If you are currently searching for sustainable yoga mats, you will often find natural rubber yoga mats. We read more about this material and want to share with you our results.
Happy Earth Overshoot Day everyone!
Our generation and our ancestors have made it, that the Earth Overshoot Day came closer every year. Now, it even already happened and since 2nd of August, we have used more of the planet’s natural resources than our earth can renew in the whole year. Overharvesting the forest is only one example that shows you that humans are demanding more from the planet than it can provide.
So why do we overharvest our beautiful nature?
Because society wants to buy more, consume more take more pictures of beautiful stuff and simply enjoys a lavish lifestyle.
Natural rubber yoga mats are good for our planet and natural rubber is a sustainable alternative to harmful PVC, right?
Sustainable yoga brands do mostly use eco-friendly materials such as natural rubber yoga mats. But how eco-friendly is natural rubber as a resource indeed? Well, not really eco-friendly. The good thing is, it can be grown again and therefore is better than harmful PVC products. Unfortunately, there is a huge but…
The demand for natural rubber has grown immensely in recent years, also because conscious yogis and yoginis are looking for sustainable yoga mats and natural rubber yoga mats seem like a good option at first glance. Many natural rubber plantations are needed to meet this demand. The cultivation of natural rubber plantations, mainly in South East Asia, leads to a drastic reduction of our nature.
Protected areas and rainforests are cut down, resulting in a loss of untouched nature and biodiversity. Even if areas are climatically unsuitable, these are used for rubber cultivation. There is no room for long-term sustainable management. The use of natural resources, such as natural rubber, can therefore not be considered ecologically or socially sustainable.
The benefits of recycled yoga mats over natural rubber yoga mats
How great would it be to have a solution that does not need to take any new resources, which means not to take anything from our natural biodiversity. Actually, there is a solution. There is no need to take new resources to make beautiful, high-quality products. Waste is just a definition. Often it is not waste until you waste it. For our yoga mats, we found a high-quality material, which is existing in abundance. We have therefore decided not to develop a natural rubber yoga mat but to bring a recycled yoga mat onto the market. We give cut-offs that occur during the foaming industry a second product life with our beautiful hejhej-mats. Even though natural rubber yoga mats often appear sustainable and eco-friendly at first glance, this is unfortunately not the case. Find out about your products and support companies in the circular economy.
