The 13 Best Eco-friendly Yoga Mats That Are Actually Comfortable (2023)

Georgette Kilgore headshot, wearing 8 Billion Trees shirt with forest in the background.Written by Georgette Kilgore

Eco-Friendly Natural Products | March 1, 2024

People perfoming poses on the best eco-friendly yoga mats that are actually comfortable.

If you are searching for an eco-friendly yoga mat that is actually comfortable, look no further.

Best Eco-Friendly Yoga Mats and Sustainable Yoga Mat Brands

Our Favorites

1

Overall Best Eco-friendly Yoga Mat: Yoloha

Sustainable cork combined with quality craftsmanship make these our top eco-friendly yoga mat pick.

2

Best on Sustainable Comfort: Yogasana

Organic cotton creates firm, yet comfy yoga mat.

3

Most Affordable Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat: Gaiam

Low price doesn't mean low quality with this mat.

4

Best Recycled Yoga Mat Brand Focused on Sustainability: SUGA

Using donated old wetsuits, this company is taking sustainability to a new level.

5

Best Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat Grip: Create Flow

The blend of ethically sourced rubber and jute give this eco-friendly yoga mat outstanding grip.

6

Best Non-toxic Yoga Mat That is Also Eco-friendly: Urbivore

Cork is naturally antimicrobial, making this mat non-toxic. Plus, each one sold plants trees.

7

Best Vegan Yoga Mat: Manduka

This 100% plant based yoga mat is also biodegradable.

8

Best Tree Planting Yoga Mat: Jade Yoga

PVC free, these rubber mats also plant trees.

9

Best Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat Employing Women: Abhinehkrafts

Empowering women in management, this mat company uses cotton, grass and jute combinations.

10

Best Recycled Yoga Mat Brand Focused on Giving Back: hejhej-mats

This brand donates to the Earth Child Project, and delivers a comfortable yoga mat from recycled materials.

11

Best for Reducing Plastics: Prana E.C.O. Mat

Leading the way in sustainable designs and reducing plastic waste.

12

Best Organic Yoga Mat: We’ar

Ethical, organic yoga fashion.

13

Best Grip and Durability: Barefoot Yoga

Enhanced grip is combined with durability in this eco-friendly yoga mat.

There are some wonderful brands out there that create yoga gear with comfort in mind, combined with the most ethical practices.

1
Yoloha: Overall Best Eco-friendly Yoga Mat

An image of a rolled Yoloha cork yoga mat with green lining on the sides.
Price: $$-$$$
Bonus Benefits: Yoloha mats are antimicrobial, which keeps odor-causing bacteria to a minimum.
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

Of all the mats on this list, Yoloha takes the cake on beauty, functionality, comfort and design. Not only is the artwork on their mats beautiful, but they make their products with one of our favorite materials, cork.

As you know, we love cork for its sustainability. It is incredibly environmentally friendly as it comes from cork oak bark, which grows back without cutting down the tree! These are the only trees in the world that can regenerate their bark even after they harvest it.16

In addition to cork, they create mats containing rubber and their patented green Plant Foam made from 70% renewable materials.

Yoloha takes its sustainability efforts to the next level by being a Carbon-Free Partner with Carbonfund.org. In addition to their wonderfully eco-conscious business practices, Yoloha gives back to the community by donating yoga mats to youth organizations, veterans, and medical professionals.18

2
Yogasana: Best on Sustainable Comfort

An image of a rolled up sand-colored cotton yoga mat on a white background.
Price: $$-$$$
Bonus Benefits: Very lightweight, perfect for travelling.
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

Yogasana mats are made with 100% organic cotton in India.5 Cotton is a huge commodity for India, and in purchasing from their farms, you are helping the lives of many Indians.

They utilize Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS),6 This is a high-standard certification. To receive the GOTS certification, they evaluate the business practices in their use of organic materials, environmental impact, and social impact.

Plus, they work with Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) farmers. This initiative seeks to unify cotton farmers from around the world to produce sustainably grown cotton. “BCI contributes towards the UN’s goals to achieve better global water sustainability and sustainable agriculture.”

Yogasana may be on the pricier side, but they are certainly leading the way in sustainability.

3
Gaiam: Most Affordable Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat

Photo that shows the characteristics of beech tree.
Price: $$
Bonus Benefits: When grown, jute improves soil health and has a high oxygen output, helping other plants grow.4
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

Gaiam is one of the most popular yoga brands on the market. Not every product they make is eco-friendly. However, they have some great sustainable options. They make cork and TPE mats, as well as a jute yoga mat.3

TPE is an ideal material for its ability to be recycled, and it also takes less energy to produce than PVC.

Jute fiber is ideal as well. They make the materials from the jute plant, and it is an excellent choice because it is 100% recyclable and biodegradable.

4
SUGA: Best Recycled Yoga Mat Brand Focused on Sustainability

Photo that shows the characteristics of beech tree.
Price: $$
Bonus Benefits: Fanciful colors and whimsical designs.
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

SUGA stands for Surf-Yoga. Why? Because they make their mats from recycled wetsuits. This California-based company reflects the Cali lifestyle where surf and yoga are everyday activities, and caring for the planet is a priority.

There are numerous locations in California and Canada where you can donate your old wetsuit, and you can also mail them in. No matter the method, you will receive a 10% discount for your donation. It is a wonderfully innovative way to make a yoga mat from recycled materials.

Their C2G mat, also known as their SUGAMAT C2G (CRADLE-2-GRAVE), is especially impressive. It has the same great durable design that its classic mat entails. However, this mat is guaranteed for life. If you have any issues with your mat, they will send you a new one free of charge!

5
Create Flow: Best Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat Grip

Photo that shows the characteristics of beech tree.
Price: $$-$$$
Bonus Benefits: Total plastic free commitment.
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

Create Flow is famous for its Mukti Mat, which comes from ethically sourced rubber and jute. This mat is praised for its grip due to the blend of rubber and jute in the design.

They also have their more affordable studio mat, which they make using biodegradable TPU and ethically sourced rubber. All of their mats are made with ethically sourced organic cotton as well.9

The dyes they use are mineral-based and they are free from toxins, pesticides, and chemicals.

6
Urbivore: Best Non-toxic Yoga Mat That is Also Eco-friendly

Photo that shows the characteristics of beech tree.
Price: $$-$$$
Bonus Benefits: It has excellent grip and durability!
Comfort Level : High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

Urbivore is the master of the cork yoga mat.1 Cork is a desirable material because it is a renewable resource and biodegradable. It comes from the bark of the cork oak tree, which can be harvested and regenerated without cutting down the tree.

In working with cork, Urbivore also provides safe jobs for those specializing in harvesting the materials in the Andes and Amazon. They are also contributing to conserving the land on which the cork grows.

Urbivore is super committed to high sustainability standards. Not only are they using an excellent renewable resource, but they plant one tree for each purchase through One Tree Planted.

Not only is cork great for the planet, but it is antimicrobial and breathable, which makes for a nice smelling and clean mat.

7
Manduka: Best Vegan Yoga Mat

Price: $$-$$$
Bonus Benefits: Lifetime Guarantee on the PRO™ series
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

Manduka is a solid sustainable brand. They say they make “products with purpose” as they seek to incorporate conservancy into their product creation.

Their “Live On” program takes your old yoga mat and either downcycles it to make other products or, they donate it to organizations that can use your mat for yoga classes.2

It is a 100% plant-based yoga mat that is biodegradable.

8
Jade Yoga: Best Tree Planting Yoga Mat

An image of a purple half rolled yoga mat on a white background.
Price: $$-$$$
Bonus Benefits: Mats are made in the U.S.A. which reduces carbon emissions from shipping overseas.
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

Jade Yoga is certainly committed to eco-friendly practices and they plant one tree for every purchase through Trees for the Future.7 They also use rubber which is a highly renewable resource. No PVC here!

9
Abhinehkrafts: Best Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat Employing Women

Photo that shows the characteristics of beech tree.
Price: $$-$$$
Bonus Benefits: Helping women around the world.
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

Abhinehkrafts makes hand woven cotton mats as well as a grass and jute mat. Their grass and jute mat is among the most unique on this list.

Abhinehkrafts is committed to high-quality that matches their high ethical standards.8 All cotton is grown using GOTS and without Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). They also like cotton as it takes on natural dye better than other textiles.

10
hejhej-mats: Best Recycled Yoga Mat Brand Focused on Sustainability

An image of two rolled out speckled hejhej-mat with yogis doing a forward fold.
Price: $$$
Bonus Benefits: They donate 1 Euro/$1.17 USD for every mat purchased to Earth Child Project, a South African non-profit creating better lives for children in Cape Town.10
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

Hejhej is where it’s at. This Germany-based brand was the first yoga brand to utilize a circular economy business model. According to Wikipedia, “a circular economy employs reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling to create a closed-loop system, minimizing the use of resource inputs and the creation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions.”

And that’s precisely what hejhej does. All of their yoga mats are made with recycled materials. Their mats can then be recycled again to create a zero-waste yoga mat.

Plus, they have plastic-free packaging and carbon-neutral shipping, which is excellent when shipping goods from Germany.

11
Prana E.C.O. Mat: Best for Reducing Plastics

Photo that shows the characteristics of beech tree.
Price: $$
Bonus Benefit: In 2020, they created the Responsible Packaging Movement, which seeks to reduce the use of single-use plastics11
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

The Prana E.C.O. Mat is non-toxic and made with TPE (Thermoplastic elastomers), which, as we know, has a limited environmental impact. It is made to be antimicrobial and stays fresh better than comparable brands.

They have an impressive history of sustainability, starting from their beginnings in 1992. They have consistently improved their company to align with high ethical values.

12
We’ar: Best Organic Yoga Mat

Photo that shows the characteristics of beech tree.
Price: $$-$$$
Bonus Benefits: A plant-based company inspired by nature.
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

We’ar is proud to create “ethical, organic yoga fashion.” And they also have two great yoga mats; their classic yoga mat and a travel yoga mat.

They use responsibly acquired rubber with jute immersed throughout. These natural materials make their yoga mats biodegradable and non-toxic plus durable.

13
Barefoot Yoga: Best Grip and Durability

Photo that shows the characteristics of beech tree.
Price: $$
Bonus Benefits: Utilizes ethically sourced jute and rubber.
Comfort Level: High
Rating: 5 out of 5

Why We Love This Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat:

Based in the United Kingdom, Barefoot Yoga actually seeks to deliver what its name entails. They want you to feel like you are walking barefoot on the earth when practicing on their plant-based yoga mats.

With their excellent design methods, Barefoot Yoga mats are regularly praised for their grip and durability.

Winner: What Is the Very Best Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat and Why?

Yoloha is the clear winner. How can you argue with their combination of beautiful artwork and environmentally-friendly practices? The fact that they can make such a lovely-looking and comfortable yoga mat, while maintaining high-ethical standards puts them at the top of the list.

They created a yoga mat designed for strength and a solid grip that will last for years. It is the best non-toxic yoga mat that is also eco-friendly on the market.

Not only is the design outstanding, but they seek to go carbon-free and give back to the community. These are the principles that make a sustainable company worth supporting.

Organic and PVC-Free Yoga Mat Options

All of the mats on this list are PVC-free! When it comes to organic, these are our favorites:

  • Yogasana
  • We’ar
  • Create Flow
  • Prana

Making Sustainable Shopping Choices

When searching for sustainable choices, you’ll want to consider how eco-friendly the materials are and the impact to the planet from the production process on the items you purchase. A sustainable company also often includes human rights, workers’ rights, and fair trade into its business model.

What Makes Eco-Friendly Yoga Mats Actually Sustainable?

What makes a yoga mat actually sustainable pertains to its materials and how it’s made. These business practices are referred to as “green capitalism.” They have high standards for environmentalism and human rights.

Sustainability begins at the very first moment of sourcing materials, and with the production of those materials and worker safety, and ending with the transport of those materials into your hands. A sustainable yoga mat brand may also consider how much water they are using or how to implement renewable energy into their production process.

Some other key elements a sustainable brand may consider include:

  • Biodegradable materials
  • Recycled materials
  • Non-toxic materials
  • Organic materials
  • PVC-free materials

Generally, a sustainable company is always looking for the best ways to produce products with high ethical standards.

Environmentally-Friendly Yoga Mats and Eco-Friendly Yoga Mats: Are They the Same?

Absolutely. The terms are virtually interchangeable as they describe a desire to create goods with a limited environmental impact. Environmentally friendly and eco-friendly are not sustainable by default; some are more sustainable than others.

The more a company recycles/upcycles their waste, the more sustainable they are. The less impact the materials and acquisition of those materials have, the more sustainable they are. “Sustainability is the capacity to endure in a relatively ongoing way across various domains of life.”22

How To Clean Eco-Friendly Yoga Mats

If you are looking for an eco-friendly yoga mat, you are probably also aware that many cleaning products contain harmful chemicals and toxins that are both bad for you and damaging to the planet.

There are quite a few yoga-mat cleaners out there that are biodegradable, but you can also make your own.

Clean your mat often to remove oils and keep your yoga mat in good condition.

Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat Cleaner Recipe

This recipe is straightforward and sustainable.22

You will need:

  • Spray bottle
  • Vinegar or witch hazel
  • Essential oil of your choosing. Lavender and mint are great choices, but also you can use orange or lemon (or lemon grass) to add a powerful anti-bacterial agent.

Combine water and vinegar or witch hazel in a 1 to 4 ratio. Meaning, use 1 cup of vinegar or witch hazel for every 4 cups of water.

Add 10 drops of essential oil for every 1 cup of water.

Using the given recipe, you can divide the amounts to suit the size sprayer you are using. You can also make one large batch and use it for other cleaning needs around the house.

This mixture should be good for up to 6 months. However, if you use distilled water, it should last up to a year.

Finding an eco-friendly yoga mat that’s also comfortable isn’t impossible, it just takes a little research. These products limit the environmental impact, but you can also go completely carbon neutral with tree planting offsets purchased through one of the best carbon offset providers. Simply measure your personal emissions using an ecological footprint calculator, and then plant trees to remove your footprint for a full year!

When combined with offsets, your next eco-friendly yoga mat will have a net zero impact on the planet.

Read More About Eco-Friendly Products Here:

References

1Urbivore. 2021. Home Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://theurbivore.com/>

2Manduka. 2021. Live On Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://www.manduka.com/pages/live-on>

3Gaiam. 2021. Eco Friendly Products Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://www.gaiam.com/collections/eco-friendly-products>

4Future Fibres. (n.d.). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from <http://www.fao.org/economic/futurefibres/fibres/jute/en/>

5Yogasana Organics. 2021. Sustainable Yoga Mats Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://yogasanamats.com/pages/sustainable-yoga-mats>

6The Standard. (n.d.). Global Organic Textile Standard. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from <https://global-standard.org/the-standard>

7Jade Yoga. 2021. FAQ Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://jadeyoga.com/pages/faq#eco>

8Abhinehkrafts. 2021. About Us Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://abhinehkrafts.com/pages/about-us>

9Create Flow. 2021. Natural Yoga Mats Page. 5 October 2021. Web <https://createflow.co/collections/natural-mats>

10hejhej. 2021. About Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://www.hejhej-mats.com/sustainability-at-hejhej-a-circular-start-up/?lang=en>

11prAna. 2021. Sustainability Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://www.prana.com/sustainability.html>

12WE’AR. 2021. About Us Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://we-ar.com/pages/ethos>

13Barefoot Yoga. 2021. The Original Yoga Mat Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://www.barefootyoga.com/the-original-eco-yoga-mat>

14Suga. 2018. Recycling Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://www.sugamats.com/recycling>

15Yoloha. 2021. Mountain Magic Aura Cork Yoga Mat Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://yolohayoga.com/product/mountain-magic-aura-cork-yoga-mat/>

16Yoloha. 2021. Sustainability Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://yolohayoga.com/inside-yoloha/sustainability/>

17Yoloha. 2021. Find Your Mat Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://yolohayoga.com/inside-yoloha/about-cork-yoga-mats/>

18Yoloha. 2021. Giving Back Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://yolohayoga.com/giving-back/>

19Gaiam. 2021. Performance Mandala Cork Yoga Mat Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://www.gaiam.com/collections/yoga-mats/products/performance-mandala-cork-yoga-mat-5mm>

20Suga. 2018. Home Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://www.sugamats.com/home1>

21Create Flow. 2021. Mukti Grounded Yoga Mat Page. 5 October 2021. Web. <https://createflow.co/products/grounded-mat>

22Sustainability. (2021, October 5). Wikipedia. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability>

23DIY Yoga Mat Cleaner. (n.d.). REI. <https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/diy-mat-cleaner.html>