When I first began this business 15 years ago the Australian yoga mat market was in its infancy. There were a few big players like Myers, Kmart and Rebel Sport, and maybe two or three smaller businesses – all of whom imported different types of yoga mats from China and the US. There weren’t really any business like mine – businesses owned and run by a single person, developing and manufacturing their own type of unique yoga mat.
15 years later the yoga mat market in Australia is a very different, very vibrant space - filled with lots of small businesses and a wide range of yoga mat options. With so many choices available it can be challenging to navigate the information landscape and make decisions based on fact.
I’ve written this article to help you with your decision making – it is a deep dive into the material that one of my yoga mats, The Pure Mat™, is made from. Let’s begin!
The Pure Mat™ is made from Polymer Environmentally-Friendly Resin (PER®)
What is PER®?
PER® is a type of biodegradable plastic - just like we have biodegradable plastic bin-liners, biodegradable plastic coffee cups, biodegradable plastic plates etc etc - with the advent of PER® it is now possible to have biodegradable plastic yoga mats.
PER®, also known as “Clean-PVC” or “Eco-PVC”, represents an evolutionary step in PVC. Unlike traditional PVC, PER does not contain toxic phthalates or stabilizers, heavy metals or flame retardants and it is biodegradable. All aspects of the PER material - from the raw PER material, through to all intermediate processes, through to the finished product, are certified by Oeko-Tex.
What is Oeko-Tex®?
Oeko-Tex is short for The International Association for Research and Testing in the Field of Textile and Leather Ecology and was started in 1992. It is a third-party certification that means a product has been independently tested to ensure it’s free from harmful chemicals. If a material or product has Oeko-Tex certification, you can be confident that it's safe for your skin and the environment.
Here is PER®'s Oeko-Tex certification (with the name of our manufacturer blacked-out):
Is PER® biodegradable?
Yes – PER® does biodegrade. Our manufacturers sent PER material samples to an independent lab for biodegradation and aerobic composting testing. Results showed that at 45 days, 6.7% of the PER material had biodegraded, and at 161 days, 31.13% of the PER material had biodegraded. At 161 days the test was stopped as enough information had been gathered to show that PER biodegrades, with the indication being that PER continues to break down over time when in landfill conditions.
Here are the results of that test (again with the name of our manufacturer blacked-out):
Our manufactures took things one step further by sending PER material samples to an independent lab for a “Seedling emergence and growth test” – this test assesses the impact of biodegrading PER material on soil quality. To test the soil's health, sweet corn, cabbage, and mung bean seeds were planted in the soil where PER material samples were biodegrading. The seedlings had a 96.3% emergence and survival rate, demonstrating that the biodegrading PER material had no major negative impact on soil health.
Here are the results of that test (again with the name of our manufacturer blacked-out):
Is PER® non-toxic and harmless to human health?
Yes. As mentioned above PER has Oeko-Tex Certification. Oeko-Tex is a globally recognized safety standard for materials. It is a voluntary process that thoroughly tests and certifies materials at every production stage, from raw materials to intermediate processes, all the way through to the finished product. When a material is certified by Oeko-Tex it means that it has been thoroughly tested for the presence of harmful substances and proven to be free from harmful substances, therefore harmless to human health.
Is PER® durable?
Yes. When I created The Pure Mat™, I looked at all yoga mat materials and settled on PER partly because of its incredible strength. It is a robust material that performs well under regular, intensive use – it can be used in the hottest of hot yoga rooms, outdoors at the park for personal training, at the gym, and at home.
Is PER® lightweight?
Yes. The Pure Mat™ weighs just 1.3kg so is easy to carry around, roll-up and store.
Is PER® heavy metal free?
Yes. Here are those test results. “n.d” = Not Detected
So that's the deep dive into PER®...
In summary, The Pure Mat™ is made from Polymer Environmentally-Friendly Resin (PER®). PER is a breakthrough, non-toxic, plastic material that because of its ability to biodegrade, is better for the environment than traditional PVC. With its Oeko-Tex certification ensuring it is free of harmful substances, its proven biodegradability, and its durability and ability to be intensively used, The Pure Mat™ sets a new standard for yoga mats.
Thank you for joining me on this deep dive into PER – I hope it’s helped you make a more informed and inspired choice for your practice.
Andrea x