9 Sustainable Yoga Props & Accessories To Bolster Your Environmentalism
Even eco-warriors sometimes need a helping hand perfecting their peaceful warrior.
Sustainable yoga props and accessories, like blocks, balls, straps, and bolsters, can help yogis of all levels with flexibility, stability, and sustainability.
When you Savasana in one of Jade Yoga’s sustainable yoga blankets, rest easy knowing you’re wrapped in organic materials.
Shakti Warrior will help you find balance in your Crane pose, and does so by providing socially disadvantaged women with high wages and health care.
While Gaiam offers harder-to-find eco friendly yoga essentials, like wheels, wedges, and grippy socks, for the formidable Bhairavasana you’re trying to perfect.
If your muscles are still feeling tight, stretch on down to the end of the article to see how we found the most eco friendly yoga props.
*This post contains affiliate links
QUICK LINKS TO SUSTAINABLE YOGA PROPS & ACCESSORIES
1. JADE YOGA
About Jade Yoga
Jade Yoga is a family-owned company and creator of the first green, non-toxic yoga mat.
In addition to eco friendly yoga mats, they have props aplenty, including sustainable yoga straps, blankets, bolsters, blocks, and meditation cushions.
Jade Yoga’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Organic cotton, conventional cotton, a cotton/poly blend, and buckwheat hulls make up Jade’s various cushions and bolsters. Obviously, we think your “om” will be a lot more peaceful on organic cotton.
Their eco friendly yoga blanket is made with recycled cotton, the straps with regular cotton, and the blocks with sustainably-harvested Portuguese cork.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Jade Yoga’s mats are made in the US and the blankets are ethically sewn together by rural artisans of Tamil Nadu in India.
Well be reaching out to find out more on their other yoga props.
Green business practices:
Partnering with Trees for the Future and Rainforest Trust, every block sold means a tree is planted and 2,000 square feet of rainforest is preserved.
For every yoga strap purchased, Jade offsets 25 pounds of carbon emissions through a partnership with Terrapass.
To help you recycle old yoga mats, they provide a list of ideas (think: mouse pad, beach towel alternative, non-slip surface for nursing homes).
Community & charitable giving:
For every blanket sold, Jade donates a nutritious school lunch every day for a week to a child in India through the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Available: Jade Yoga
2. SHAKTI WARRIOR
About Shakti Warrior
Mother-daughter venture Shakti Warrior is an India-based yoga brand fueled with female energy.
In addition to sustainable yoga mats, they offer planet-friendly props like eco friendly yoga blocks, meditation cushions, straps, and eye pillows (for a truly rejuvenating savasana).
Their other sustainable yoga accessories include yoga mat cleaner, mat bags, and eco-friendly water bottles.
Shakti Warrior’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The sustainable meditation pillows are made with an Earth-friendly cork fabric and buckwheat fillers, making them 100% biodegradable.
The blocks and straps are each made with a single, natural material—cork and organic cotton, respectively.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Partnering with the Institute of Learning, Culture and Art, Shakti Warrior provides jobs to socially disadvantaged women in India, who are paid high wages and given nutritious food and health care.
Green business practices:
Shakti Warrior provides a 10% discount when old yoga mats are sent back to be upcycled into flip flops that are then distributed to underprivileged communities.
Inclusivity:
Shakti Warrior is women-owned and operated.
Community & charitable giving:
A tree is planted for every cork yoga mat sold and they provide volunteer yoga coaches for underfunded schools.
Available: Shakti Warrior
3. SCORIA
About Scoria
Canadian company Scoria believes in the importance of reconnecting with our childlike essence. Yoga is one way to rekindle this sense of playfulness.
#UnleshTheChildWithin using the eco friendly yoga accessories from Scoria, which include blocks, support straps, aroma sprays, a yoga wheel, and massage balls and rollers.
Giving one of these props as an eco friendly gift would surely help your giftee perfect their happy baby pose—and that’s saying something!
Scoria’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Sustainably-harvested cork is the go-to material for Scoria. It’s found exclusively in the blocks and massage tools, and blended with wood and recyclable, carcinogen-free ABS foam in the wheel.
The stretch strap is made with GOTS-certified organic cotton.
Need a post-yoga class spritz? Not a prop, per se, but their glass-bottled aroma sprays are made from 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils.
Supply chain & labor practices:
In some cases, as with the aroma sprays, production takes place in Canada.
Otherwise, SGS-certified Chinese factories are responsible for manufacturing, providing fair wages, safe working conditions, and no child labor.
Green business practices:
Scoria ships plastic-free.
Inclusivity:
The brand is woman-founded, owned, and run (by an all-female team, in fact).
Community & charitable giving:
As a partner of Right to Play, a portion of each sale supports their Promoting Life-Skills In Aboriginal Youth (PLAY) program with safe play spaces, healthy food, and inclusive physical activities.
Previously, they worked with Feeding Children Everywhere, providing a total of 151,880 vegan meals to those in need.
Available: Scoria
4. MANDUKA
About Manduka
This next sustainable yoga brand has just (almost) everything to support healthy trees and tree poses alike.
Manduka offers not just yoga mats, but sustainable yoga clothes and eco friendly yoga props for yogis of all levels, including blocks, straps, blankets, and bolsters.
Check out their Guide to Props to help you select the right accessories based on your skill level.
Manduka’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The blocks are either made of 100% cork or 50-75% recycled EVA foam.
The bolster contains a 30% recycled fiber fill surrounded by a cotton filling and absorbent recycled microfiber fabric.
Straps are made with 100% unbleached cotton or 100% recycled polyester.
Blankets are available in a blend of 75% recycled wool and 25% recycled synthetic fabrics, or a blend of recycled cotton and recycled acrylic.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Being bare for hot yoga is one thing, but being bare about manufacturing practices is another. We’ll be getting in touch to learn more about their policies.
Green business practices:
Through Manduka’s ‘Live On’ program, they’ve partnered with The Renewal Workshop to downcycle mats into things like carpet padding and track surfaces.
If the mat just needs a little TLC, it’s repaired and donated to youth centers, schools, or senior programs.
Available: Manduka
5. GAIAM
About Gaiam
Gaiam is a one-stop-shop for yoga, fitness, and wellness products.
From beginner to expert, they have the mats and eco friendly yoga equipment to put a sustainable spin on any practice.
Their sustainable yoga props and accessories include blocks, straps, bolsters, blankets, wedges, wheels, ropes, eye pillows, grippy socks, and massage balls and rollers.
Gaiam’s Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Gaiam use a range materials in their products. We’d avoid those made from EVA and PVC but they stock several which are made from 100% natural cork, including:
- Sustainable yoga balls and rollers for massage
- Sustainable yoga bolsters filled with natural cotton batting and topped with a washable microfiber cotton cover
- Sustainable meditation cushion filled with buckwheat
- Eco friendly yoga blocks made from 100% natural recycled cork
Supply chain & labor practices:
Some products are crafted in the USA, while others are manufactured by an unmentioned 3rd party.
We’re hoping to learn more about these manufacturing practices directly from the brand.
Community & charitable giving:
Throughout the US, Gaiam has donated yoga mats, water bottles, solar-powered gadgets, and fitness tools to homeless shelters, hospitals, and inner-city schools.
Available: Gaiam
6. MY YOGA ESSENTIALS
About My Yoga Essentials
Designed by women, for women, My Yoga Essentials makes clothing, yoga mats, mat bags, and props with the highest-quality, eco friendly materials.
Each one makes it so “you can create your own ‘zen’ – anywhere you are.”
The Etsy shop has sustainable yoga blocks, therapy balls, and yoga wheels, and their website has additional offerings like clothing.
My Yoga Essentials’ Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Both the blocks and the massage balls are made with cork.
The yoga wheel also features cork, atop TPE foam and ABS plastic.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Shop owner Mary works with a manufacturer in China called Hangzhou Jukui Technology to produce her hemp linen-rubber mats. The company allows them to print with water soluble inks and uses non-chemical bonding agents.
The mat bag textiles and sustainable yoga prop cork is sourced from a female entrepreneur in China. She helps them identify manufacturers with excellent safety and working conditions and ethical certifications.
Upon sending designs and materials to a manufacturer, this partner personally visits and video chats with the founders so they can see the conditions personally.
Green business practices:
All clthing is printed on-demand to order
With every purchase from Etsy, 100% of the carbon emissions from shipping and packaging is offset.
Inclusivity:
The small, Texas-based business is woman-owned.
Community & charitable giving:
My Yoga Essentials donates a portion of all sales to Oceana.org.
Available: My Yoga Essentials
7. BEAN PRODUCTS
About Bean Products
Chicago-based Bean Products has been manufacturing sustainable home goods and wellness products for decades.
In addition to homewares like eco friendly dog beds, organic pillows, and eco friendly shower curtains, they have a large selection of yoga mats and accessories.
Their sustainable yoga props include bolsters, blocks, meditation cushions, and a back stretching bench.
Bean Products’ Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Organic cotton is the foundation fabric of their meditation cushions and the sustainable pranayama bolsters feature hemp fabric or cotton canvas.
Some yoga blocks are made with 100% cork, while others are made from non-toxic EVA foam.
The Whale back-stretching bench is made entirely from hardwoods.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Everything is made in the USA and some of their materials, like some of their hemp, is sourced there too.
Green business practices:
The brand’s bean bag chairs are filled with CertiPUR-US certified shredded foam made from pre-consumer furniture scraps. The poly beads are made from recycled polystyrene.
Customers have the option to make their order carbon neutral—and we highly recommend you do.
Community & charitable giving:
Bean Products partners with The Hemp Foundation to support further hemp research, Indigenous cultivar conservation, and farming families in Uttarakhand.
For every product made (not just purchased), a tree is planted by Trees for the Future.
Available: Bean Products
8. ABHINEHKRAFTS
About AbhinehKrafts
An Etsy shop located in the birthplace of yoga, India-based AbhinehKrafts is an ommmm-azing source for yoga, meditation, and wellness products.
They offer yoga mats and rugs, meditation blankets and cushions, Iyengar ropes, eye pillows, yoga straps, fitness blocks, and yoga mat holders.
If you need some sustainable home decor to help channel those peaceful poses, check out their wooden meditation shrines.
AbhinehKrafts’ Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Believing in the magic of natural fibers, this brand prioritizes them.
All blankets, yoga ropes, and straps are made with GOTS-certified organic cotton. The sustainable meditation cushions also feature an organic cotton cover, stuffed with buckwheat.
The eye pillows are made with an organic cotton-rayon fabric blend, stuffed with flax and lavender seeds.
The eco friendly yoga blocks are made with either cork or locally-sourced pine or red sal wood.
Supply chain & labor practices:
AbhinehKrafts works with mostly-women partner artisans across India.
This helps preserve age-old crafting traditions (like the hand stitching and screen printing of their organic cotton mat carriers) and provides meaningful employment for the 750+ households.
Other products are handcrafted in the shop’s own small studio.
Green business practices:
All textile scraps, no matter how small, get recycled into new products. Even small strips can become doll dresses or part of a utility pouch.
They use biodegradable packaging like fabric bags, paper bags, and recyclable pouches.
Inclusivity:
Founded by “self taught designer, mother, a Yoga enthusiast” Neha Sharma, this brand is female-owned and run.
Available: Etsy | AbhinehKrafts
9. 42 BIRDS
About 42 Birds
42 Birds is a brother and sister-owned brand that’s committed to the 42 bird species that find a home in the cork forests of the Mediterranean.
To promote sustainable harvesting and keep these forests thriving, their yoga mats and eco friendly yoga accessories are made from 100% recycled cork.
Eco yogis can turn to them for yoga blocks, massage balls, massage rollers, de-stress kits, mats, and money-saving bundles of all or some of the above.
42 Birds’ Ethical and Sustainability Practices
Materials:
100% recycled cork is the only material you’ll see in 42 Birds’ range of eco friendly yoga equipment.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The recycled cork is sourced from Portugal, where more than 100,000 people depend on cork for their livelihoods.
As for manufacturing, we’ll be reaching to confirm how green and transparent their supply chain is.
Green business practices:
Their partner, the Cork Forest Conservation Alliance, accepts old cork products to be recycled and they encourage customers to take advantage of this service.
Community & charitable giving:
As a member of 1% For the Planet, 42 Birds donates a portion of their profits to the World Wildlife Foundation, the Cork Forest Conservation Alliance, and the National Audubon Society.
Available: 42 Birds
HOW WE CHOSE ECO FRIENDLY YOGA ACCESSORIES
Props are meant to keep your body safe and supported when attempting poses you may not be ready to do unassisted.
Outside of functionality, this is what we looked for in these eco friendly yoga accessories:
Materials:
Many of the props that help you perfect your daily ashtanga practice can be made with sustainable fabrics, like cork, hemp fabric, and recycled or organic cotton.
For foam-based blocks, EVA and ABS are two non-toxic varieties, but they still don’t have nearly as good end-of-life prospects as cork blocks.
For pillows and bolsters, we looked for recycled fibers or natural materials, like organic cotton, buckwheat hulls, and plant seeds.
Since materials are key with this particular product line, we also sought out third-party certifications to ward against greenwashing.
- Certifications: OEKO-Tex 100, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Global Recycle Standard (GRS)
Supply chain & labor practices:
Many of these brands use traditional crafting techniques, locally sourced materials, and small supply chains through which they provide employment opportunities for disadvantaged folks, rural artisans, and women.
For larger brands, we look for transparency in the form of factory locations and statements regarding the fair treatment and safe working conditions for their employees.
For those whose manufacturing details were a little lacking, we’ll reach out to learn more.
- Certifications: Fair trade, SGS
Green business practices:
Going beyond sustainable materials really helps us find zen.
That’s why we sought brands providing an option for repairing or upcycling old yoga mats, shipping eco friendly yoga props plastic free, and accounting for their impact by supporting carbon offset programs.
Inclusivity:
We always feel extra empowered (by which we mean more thigh burn) in goddess pose knowing our practice is aided by women-owned and operated companies.
Community & charitable giving:
We (hand)stand behind brands that are all about karma. Yoga brands that give back are staying true to the practice and its spiritual roots.
Many of these companies donate products or time to various environmental and social organizations.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON ECO FRIENDLY YOGA PROPS
If you’re in need of a block, bolster, or blanket, avoid those that stretch the limits of our planet’s resources.
Especially since it’s so easy to replace plastic and foam with natural alternatives.
Did we help awaken your chakras? Or rather provide some degree of enlightenment on what makes a sustainable yoga prop?
If you’re not all the way there yet, that’s okay—just like yoga, sustainable living is a journey that’s all about doing what you can.
If you know anyone else who could benefit from namastaying away from unsustainable props, feel free to spread the word at your next yoga class.
Namaste !
We are a sustainable yoga brand from Goa, India.
We make the 100% sustainable yoga mat for grip.
Our mission is to contribute to the global sustainable goals
Do check us out http://www.uurja-naturals.com