why eco yoga mats?

You try to keep your kids away from dangerous objects, but products made from PVC – including most yoga mats – are some of the most hazardous consumer products ever created.

While yoga is one of the best things we can do for our bodies, most yoga mats have the unfortunate fate of being made of very nasty chemicals that do great harm to the earth and to our bodies. Most yoga mats are made from PVC, which is toxic during its entire lifecycle, which may be hundreds, if not thousands of years long. When it’s manufactured or burned, PVC releases dioxins, the most toxic and harmful chemicals ever tested. Dioxin can cause cancer and wreck havoc on the immune and reproductive systems.
Here’s one take on PVC:

The manufacture, use, disposal, and recycling of PVC releases some of the most toxic chemicals we know of. Mercury, lead, dioxins and phthalates are all used or released in the manufacturing of PVC. In fact, PVC manufacturing is the single largest use of industrial chlorine. These compounds cause cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive system harm, immune system damage, and other serious health problems.

What is most scary about PVC is that, while these chemicals are especially potent for children, its often used in children’s toys, bottles, mattress covers, and other common household products that off-gas through their life cycle. The European Parliament banned the use of toxic phthalates in children’s toys in 2005, but it’s still legal to manufacture and sell them in the U.S.! Link

Yoga is about learning to live in harmony with ourselves and our world. Lotuspad strives to be part of the solution to the challenges facing our global community, not a part of the problem.

While any manufacturing process leaves some mark on the environment, Lotuspad believes that it is crucial to do whatever we can to minimize our footprints on the planet.

*Source: Greenpeace