23+ Plastic Free & Sustainable Yoga Mats

Yoga is all about connecting with your body, breathing, and really checking in. You may use yoga as a form of meditation, as a way to exercise, or for processing grief. No matter the reason you practice, your yoga should be good for you and good for the planet.

Unfortunately, many yoga mats are made with PVCs and toxic plastics that harm our bodies and leave a large environmental impact on mother earth. It's important to invest in eco-friendly yoga mats that are made from sustainable materials and with minimal amounts of plastic and synthetic dyes.

Generally speaking, you want to avoid plastic yoga mats. Plastic yoga mats leach PVCs which are extremely toxic (read more about avoiding PVCs here). You can tell when something is made with PVC as it smells like plastic. Think of that new car smell or a new shower curtain. That smell? PVC off-gassing.

So what materials are best to use in eco-friendly yoga mats?

If you have an old yoga mat you no longer want, there are very few options for getting rid of it.

If the yoga mat is still in good shape and usable, you should definitely donate it to a local thrift shop or post it on a group like Buy Nothing or Craigslist. Putting a yoga mat in the trash that is usable is simple a waste and absolutely not environmentally friendly.

If, however, your yoga mat is beyond use with holes and rips, it'll most likely need to be placed in the trash can. Very few curbside recycling companies will accept things like yoga mats - even if they are made from plastic or rubber! Don't be fooled thinking that anything "plastic" can be placed in the bin. Unless your recycling company specifically addresses yoga mats and you are 100% positive the type of plastic it is, place it in the trash bin.

There is also the possibility of purchasing a new yoga mat from a company that will take back your old one for recycling. Take a look at Manduka below to see how they are implementing a recycling program for any type of yoga mat returned to them. Unfortunately it is only available to their customers so you can't send in one for recycling unless you buy one from them first.

This post contains affiliate links where I earn a small commission on any sales made through the links, at no cost to you.

Jade Yoga plants a tree for every mat sold with Trees for the Future. They also give back by having dedicated causes on Earth Day, Black Friday, and for some specific colored mats. For example, $5 for every teal mat sold goes to ovarian cancer causes.

I currently use the extra-long, extra-wide navy blue yoga mat by Jade Yoga and I love it! Absolutely no slipping, no peeling, and super easy to wipe down after each use.

Urbivore is owned by two sisters and plants a tree for every purchase with One Tree Planted. Their website uses models that include BIPOC representation and size inclusivity.

Brentwood Home is owned by Avocado Green Brands (who make our very favorite mattress!). Their yoga mat is GOTS certified organic for both the cotton and latex used and free from any other synthetic materials. You can even wash the mat on warm or cold!

Every yoga mat sold through Scoria means 10 meals are donated through the program Feeding Children Everywhere. They also commit to 100% plastic free shipping!

Manduka has created a LiveOn program where they partner with The Renewal Workshop to downcycle old yoga mats. When purchasing from Manduka, simply add the LiveOn option to your cart (~$10) and send in ANY old yoga mat you have. If the mat needs just a little TLC, they'll fix it up and find a home for it! Or if it's beyond repair, they'll downcycle it into things like carpet padding, soles of shoes, and track turf.

This is one of the first yoga mat recycling programs of its kind!

Kiss the Sky creates yoga mats made from manufacturing cuttings and scraps that might otherwise go to waste. All their rubber is pre-consumer recycled and made into yoga mats with ISO 9001 certified Zero Emission manufacturing partners. They have calculated that each recycled rubber yoga mat emits 6.5 pounds fewer CO2 emissions than mats made through traditional means.

Juru Mandala is an India-based company that ships their yoga mats worldwide!

Every Lush Valley Lifestyle yoga mat is wrapped in 100% plantable wild flower paper so you can plant it directly in your garden! Now that is truly eco-friendly packaging for a yoga mat!

Prana is a Member of the Fair Labor Association and although it does not directly operate the manufacturing piece, they are audited once a year to ensure their entire chain meets fair labor standards.

With every purchase, Anja donates to One Tree Planted!

Yoloha commits to plastic free shipping!

The Microfiber on top of the rubber is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles! They are also using non-fade, water based inks to print their designs.

Liforme partners with a variety of organizations where they donate 5% of specifically colored mats to them. For example, 5% of the sales of Purple Earth & White Earth series go to Friends of the Earth. They are also part of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).

Maiya is owned by Nihaar Sinha, an Indian-American, with artwork designed in Mumbai by Shweta Malhotra. Their website includes South Asian and POC models with their yoga mats.

Their material is certified by OEKO-TEX as safe for use by humans.

Gurus partners with Trees for the Future and plants a tree for every yoga mat sold.

Pharamond plants a tree for every yoga mat purchased!

Hugger Mugger donates a portion of profits to a charitable organization each quarter but does not specify how much.

1% of each purchase goes towards Karma Life although Lottus Life yoga mats are only available on Amazon (which definitely does not have an ethical track record).

Mantrafant's yoga mats are sent by railway instead of by plane to their warehouse in Germany and then sent to your house with GoGreen shipping, a carbon-neutral shipping company. The carboard boxes are made of grass fiber and paper waste, too!

They also plant one tree in Germany for every yoga mat sold!