A few months ago, as fitness studios started closing for COVID-19 lockdown, I knew it was time to get serious about at-home workouts. I started researching the best non-toxic yoga mat, and what materials were best for our health and the environment. Surprisingly, the term ‘phthalates‘ popped up a lot. I knew of this chemical group from my studies, and of course, excitedly jumped on the opportunity to learn more.
What’s that ‘yoga mat’ smell?
It’s a question you may have wondered. I never owned any yoga mats before this year, but I remember the slightly sour, plastic smell whenever I would walk into a gym studio. The odor can come from the off-gassing of phthalates. ‘Off-gassing’ is the process of releasing harmful gases that were trapped in the material during the production process. Many household items can off-gas, such as furniture, curtains, and synthetic fabrics.
If phthalates are toxic, why do we use them?
Phthalates are found in a multitude of consumer products, including perfume! On the left, I explain what are phthalates and why they are used as a common chemical agent. The term ‘phthalates’ refers to a group of chemical compounds, and their most common application is to serve as plasticizers in materials such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride).
Plasticizers soften polymers by lowering their glass transition temperature, the point at which a material changes from its rigid ‘glassy’ state to its flexible ‘rubbery’ state. For a cushiony material like yoga mats, you can guess why this property is important.
PVC is the most common, and inexpensive material used to produce yoga mats. However, without plasticizers, it would be pretty hard and brittle. Ouch for a workout!
Environmental & Health Risks from Phthalates
To date, the CDC states that the impact of low phthalate levels on human health is still unclear. However, a bulk of reputable scientific literature points to their toxicity. See bottom of this post for two peer-reviewed papers that show phthalates disrupt our endocrine and reproductive systems. Additionally, these chemicals impact wildlife, natural water sources, and ecosystems.
The Alternative—A ‘6P-Free’ Yoga Mat
For my purposes, I found that Gaiam offered a bunch of affordable and less-toxic yoga mat options. There is a wide variety to choose from in terms of price range, design, colors, and thickness, which I loved! Not to mention, their yoga mats are 6P-free, which means they do not contain these 6 types of phthalates: DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP, and DNOP phthalates.
These varieties are most clearly linked to human health risks, and are highly regulated/restricted in certain products in the EU.
Shop my Exercise Mat from Gaiam
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Left: Classic Solid Color Yoga Mat (5mm) – love the color variety for this one, Tie Dye Yoga Mat (4mm), Balboa Yoga Mat (4mm)
I’ve been using my Gaiam Tie Dye Yoga Mat for 6 months now. Loving the calming color and stickiness of the mat. However, the surface of this design is textured for non-slip performance. One main drawback is that it can attract dirt that is hard to clean out. So this point may be something to think about, if you want a textured versus smooth surface yoga mat.
Pros & Cons of Different Yoga Mat Materials
All this talk of phthalates reminds me that I have not talked about the actual yoga mat material at all! It’s true, PVC is also pretty toxic (and certainly not biodegradable). As such, I plan on using my mat for a long time. So if you are not comfortable using a PVC-mat, there are plenty of other materials I found in my research. Below, I share the pros and cons to a variety of other yoga mat materials.
Avoiding phthalates may be a good first step to finding a non-toxic yoga mat. However, the above guide may be useful if you are looking for a mat material that is sustainable as well. I could have done a better job to avoid a PVC mat. But given that I exercise outdoors and plan to hit the studio (whenever it is safe again), I am happy with my Gaiam purchase.
Now for the super-sciency info, here are two very thorough articles that explain the risks of phthalates. Happy reading!
- National Research Council (US) Committee on the Health Risks of Phthalates. Phthalates and Cumulative Risk Assessment: The Tasks Ahead. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2008.
- Grindler, N.M., Vanderlinden, L., Karthikraj, R. et al. Exposure to Phthalate, an Endocrine Disrupting Chemical, Alters the First Trimester Placental Methylome and Transcriptome in Women. Sci Rep 8, 6086 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-24505-w
