The Lotuspad: A Great Non-PVC Kids' Yoga Mat

We've written before about Z's interest in yoga, and are working on establishing a yoga habit as a family which is DVD-free to serve as a foundation for a habit that will serve her for her whole life, treating whatever yoga videos she watches on her own as a bonus.

For the past two years, she has either used one of our yoga mats or gone without one; she went through a phase where she was continually distracted from doing yoga by her keen interest in perfecting an ability to roll up the mat (quite a challenge for a two-year-old!), so for a while we weren't encouraging her to get one out when it was yoga time.

We've become increasingly wary of our yoga mats, however, because they are made of PVC. PVC is made using plasticizers known as phthalates. The CSPC asked U.S. makers of bottles and pacifiers to stop using phthalates in 1998, and phthalates have been banned in Europe since 2005. Here's what one informed source had to say about PVC:

The manufacture, use, disposal, and recycling of PVC releases some of the most toxic chemicals we know of. Mercury, lead, dioxins and phthalates are all used or released in the manufacturing of PVC. In fact, PVC manufacturing is the single largest use of industrial chlorine. These compounds cause cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive system harm, immune system damage, and other serious health problems.

What is most scary about PVC is that, while these chemicals are especially potent for children, its often used in children’s toys, bottles, mattress covers, and other common household products that off-gas through their life cycle. [Link]

The plastic is ubiquitous - its off-gas is what gives your car that "new-car smell" - and we aren't even entirely consistent in limiting Z's contact with it (I'm sure her many beloved rubber duckies are PVC). But we do try to avoid it.

The Lotuspad is made of TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) which is a common alternative now used in bottles, sippy cups, and toys. We had been waiting on a major manufacturer who is getting a non-PVC kids' mat ready for market when we discovered the company. The recent start-up has to have passion for what they do to make a go of such a specialized product, and they were happy to send us a Lotuspad to review.

Z on her Lotuspad with her DIY "singing bowl"

The Lotuspad is, frankly, a luscious yoga mat. It's soft and thick (5mm, great for our tile floors), and even its non-slip side doesn't feel sticky like our PVC adult yoga mats do. The floor side is a dark gray and the practicing side is available in a few different colors. It's frankly much nicer than our mats.

It's a basic tenet of Montessori educational methods that tools and materials for children should be sized appropriately for their use, and we believe this very strongly. Z was thrilled to have a yoga mat that was "her size" - the small yoga mat we received is four feet long and two feet wide, and the company also sells a larger mat they say is for older kids and adults under 5'6". We think a yoga mat should be at least a couple inches longer than your child is tall, so we'd knock that range back to about 5'4".

Z can easily set up and move her little Lotuspad, but ironically (and to our great satisfaction) it is more difficult for her to roll up. Because the preferred rolling direction is with the non-skid side in, a design feature that keeps the thick mat from rolling up on itself while you're using it, getting it started takes more savvy and dexterity than Z is used to bringing to bear on her yoga-mat-rolling routine. It is easier for her to unroll and lay out than our adult mats, though, both because it is smaller and because it lays flat once you get it unrolled properly, and is not easily tripped over or folded on itself by a little yogi's wayward toe.

If you need any further evidence of this product's quality, the company is offering to send potential customers free swatches of Lotuspad material so you can see for yourself what it feels like before making a purchase. We think this is a smart move for such a high-quality product, and encourage you to request a sample if you think this yoga mat might interest you. We'll just post a link rather than instructions, since we're assuming this offer won't last forever.

Unlike what you might expect from a high-quality and relatively niche-targeted product, Lotuspad has found a smart position for itself in the market, at least at its temporary, introductory price. DIY cheapskates like us might be tempted to buy an adult mat and simply trim it short if a premium price were attached to a smaller product, but at $28 for a four-foot mat, Lotuspad comes in well under the price of "full-length" premium mats and matches the price of mats which appear to be of much lower quality that are PVC-free. You can browse the offerings on Amazon.com to do some comparisons yourself, and we suspect you'll come to the same conclusion we did: That Lotuspads are - for now - a refreshingly good buy for anyone who would like to avoid PVC yoga mats for their children.

The company also produces and sells straps for securing and carrying rolled mats. We didn't have a chance to sample one of those, and frankly we're still tempted to create our own, or at least a keep-it-rolled Velcro strap, rather than dropping $16 for one. But they look nice if you're in the market for a cute accessory.

You can buy the small Lotuspad from the Lotuspad website.