What is natural rubber?

All our mats are made from natural rubber. Natural rubber comes from a white, runny, milk-like substance called latex that is found in certain plants. Many common plants around you have this liquid (e.g. dandelions), however, the most common plant that we extract latex from is called Hevea brasiliensis, also known as the rubber tree. The process of extracting latex is called tapping. This allows us to extract the tree's sap (latex) without killing the tree. Once the latex has been collected, the latex is then strained, diluted with water, rolled into sheets, dried and then ready for making into our yoga mats.

What is the difference between natural rubber and synthetic rubber?

Synthetic rubber is made from chemical products obtained from refining petroleum. Not only does this use up a precious natural resource but it will also release harmful toxins in the atmosphere, as expected working with petroleum. The most common forms of synthetic rubber are PVA (polyvinyl acetate), PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and SBR (styrene butadiene). Most yoga mats on the market are made with PVC, so we'll focus on that one a bit more. Not only is PVC a man-made material which requires a lot of preprocessing, but it is also not biodegradable. PVC is also found under your sink and is commonly used for pipes. Furthermore, to transform PVC into a flexible form to create a yoga mat, phthalates are used to soften the PVC. This is another huge disadvantage to PVC because phthalates have been known to cause environmental problems due to soil and water contamination, resulting in fertility issues for male species.