Eco-ion® yoga mat – what is it made of?
The two main components of the Eco-ion® yoga mat are jute fibers and PER-material. We have also added a blend of essential oils known for their anti-bacterial qualities and traditional use by yoga practioners. The small quantities of Essential oils are not giving away any smell.
Below, you find a further description of the materials in the Eco-ion® yoga mat.
JUTE
Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, family Tiliaceae. It is native to India.
Jute – a source of negative ions
Jute fiber generates high concentrations of electrically charged particles, “negative ions”, that remove pollutants and allergens from the air. Negative ions have been shown to decrease symptoms relate to asthma, depression, anxiety and increases the body’s ability to absorb oxygen.
Jute – an ancient healing plant
According toSwitzerlandbotanist De Candole’s, the orginal habitat of the jute is the same as the home of yoga, India.
Jute has been known to have many healing qualities in thousands of years. It Is known for the following carachteristics: antiseptic, anti-static, ultraviolet rays. Jute itself is comfortable, breathe freely, wet proof and heat proof. Combining the jute material in a yoga mat is a way to help the yogi to reap all the benefits from yoga practice.
Studies have shown that jute can generate a great amount of minus-ions when touched and in friction. When practising yoga (or other exercises) with the jute mat, the jute mat users’ skin can absorb the negative ion directly.
PER – POLYMER ENVIRONMENTAL RESIN
PER - Polymer environmentally friendly resin is becoming a popular environmentally friendly, nontoxic and carcinogen free alternative to PVC. Patented in 2003, Polymer Environmentally-Friendly Resin is a fairly new technology is thus not yet widely used.
The environmental benefits of using PER over PVC are enormous. Where emissions from PVC production are numerous, PER has little to no harmful emissions even when burned(excluding CO2 which is unavoidable in combustion). PER also does not have any slow emission of toxins and carcinogens, and it is more capable of several recycling cycles.
Given that there are fewer harmful additives in PER than PVC it is recyclable without risk of degradation of the recyclate after several cycles. Due to it’s unique composition, recycling PER does not produce the same harmful gases as those produced from recycling PVC. PER-material is there a good alternative to PVC. (1)
It is notable that PER does not require phthalate plasticizers in order to achieve the flexibility which is required in many current applications of PVC. Given this fact, it can be seen that the carcinogenic effects are minimized in this way from exposure to carcinogens.
The use of PER as an alternative to PVC has environmental benefits as well as minimizing the need for new materials because recycling will become a viable option again. (2)
Recycling
The recyclability of PER is one of the major contributing factor pushing industry towards its use over PVC.
PER is recyclable without risk of degradation of the recyclate after several cycles. Due to it’s unique composition, recycling PER does not produce the same harmful gases as those produced from recycling PVC. It is notable that PER does not require phthalate plasticizers in order to achieve the flexibility which is required in many current applications of PVC.
Given this fact, it can be seen that the carcinogenic effects are minimized in this way from exposure to carcinogens.
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1: PVC Alternatives Database: Building the Future. http://archive.greenpeace.org/toxics/pvcdatabase/bad.html
2: PVC waste and recycling. http://archive.greenpeace.org/toxics/html/content/pvc3.html
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Eco-ion yoga mat: Yoga mat