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Skin or Respiratory Tract Irritants Detected in Yoga Mats Clean and Left Open for Few Days After Purchase to Reduce Risks

  • 2020.02.17

Practicing yoga is a favourite choice to many health-conscious people as it does not only stretch the muscles and joints but also helps ease stress and tension. The Consumer Council tested 30 models of yoga mats on the market and found some models to contain/release more than one harmful substances, including the presence of formamide, which is a reprotoxic substance, in over 90% of the models with the content in 9 models exceeding the cut-off limit set by the European’s Toy Safety Directive. Further, 30% of the models were detected with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with naphthalene in 3 models exceeding the requirement of German voluntary safety standard GS Mark. As the skin may come into direct contact with yoga mat for a long period of time and over a large area when practising yoga, or the substances may be inhaled, the Council called on the manufacturers to reduce the amount of harmful substances in their yoga mats as far as possible to safeguard consumer health. 

Vast price disparity existed among the 30 models from $45 to $899, showing a difference of almost 19 times.  But the test showed that both the most expensive model and 1 of the cheapest models, scored the same rating of 4 points in overall performance, indicating that their price and content of harmful substances detected are not necessarily related. Covered in the test were formamide, dimethyl formamide (DMF), PAHs, and plasticizers, as well as product labelling.

The test showed that 28 models were detected with quantities of formamide, between 9mg/kg and 1,270mg/kg, among them the content in 9 models exceeded the EU’s Toy Safety Directive’s cut-off limit of 200mg/kg with the highest model exceeding 5 times of the limit. In accordance with the Directive, the 9 models were put to emission test to measure their quantity of formamide emission. The results found 6 of the models emitting the harmful substance from 12μg/m3 to 15μg/m3, and the 3 remainder models were found to have no emission at all after emission test for 7 days, all models were in compliance with the EU’s Toy Safety Directive for the emission test.

Yoga mats are generally made of foam materials containing formamide that is widely used in the plastics and polymers industries. Animal studies showed that formamide could cause harm on haematopoietic and reproductive systems. The test results showed that 2 models were not detected with formamide, indicating that formamide or related ingredients may not be necessarily needed as raw materials in the manufacture of yoga mats. Manufacturers are urged to improve their production to minimize the risks posed to consumers when using yoga mats.

Out of the 30 yoga mat test models, 11 were detected with PAHs, despite the total amounts were in compliance with both the EU’s REACH regulation and the German’s voluntary standard GS Mark requirements. However, 3 of the 9 models detected with naphthalene (one of the substances in PAHs) were found to exceed the German GS Mark for products foreseeable with prolonged skin contact requirement (2mg/kg), ranging from 4.7mg/kg to 6.5mg/kg. Naphthalene is classified as a possibly carcinogenic substance to human, and given that the skin may come into direct contact with the yoga mat for a long period of time and over a large area, and therefore consumers are advised to clean both hands with mild soap or handwash at the soonest possible after exercise to reduce the possibility of naphthalene intake.

In addition, 2 models made with polyurethane (PU) were detected with a small amount of DMF, respectively 27mg/kg and 96mg/kg, which were within the EU’s REACH regulation on the proposed limit (3,000mg/kg) for apparels, footwears and other textile consumer goods.

That notwithstanding, consumers should pay attention that formamide and DMF are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), whereby high room temperature and poor ventilation or placing a few yoga mats in the room could increase the ambient concentration of such substances that could cause irritation to the eyes and respiratory tract, and temporary discomfort.

The test also found 1 model to contain a small amount (0.017%) of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which falls within the EU’s regulation upper limit (0.1%) effective since July this year.

On product labelling, 5 models were found without full dimension information on the product length, width and thickness while most models (28) were also without weight information, and people with a big built or those who need to carry the mat around could have no reference to make when making their choices. 8 models were not labelled with information on the materials made and half of them without storage or cleaning instructions. Obviously, there is much room for improvement in product information transparency.

Consumers should base their choice for suitable yoga mats on their personal needs, for instance, their body height, health conditions, the type of exercise, the yoga venue and budget, and also take note of the following:

-If the yoga mat is too thin, it may cause discomfort or pain during the exercise.  On the contrary, if the mat is too thick, it might have a feeling of loose limb gripping that may increase difficulty in balancing;

-Yoga mats made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are generally cheaper but are easily deformed and age fast. Yoga mats of relatively higher priced thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) are lighter and anti-skidding while those made of rubber are generally heavier but durable. People who are sensitive to latex should avoid natural rubber yoga mats;

-Newly bought yoga mats should be left open for a few days to help outgas the VOCs so as to reduce inhalation of them during exercise, and also avoid contact by children and pets;

-In using yoga mats, consumers are reminded to pay heed to the importance of keeping good indoor ventilation and to ensure that infants and pets cannot come into contact or play with them as toys, and promptly wash both hands with water and soap after use to reduce the risk of absorbing harmful substances released;

-In general, clean the yoga mat surface with alcohol spray or wet wipes, and in the case of clear dirt marks, sweat or grease or frequent usage, add a small amount of mild cleaner such as bath lotion, detergent or laundry powder, soak the mat in warm water for several minutes, then use wet cloth to scrub to remove the dirt and leave it to dry;

-Never use washing machine to clean yoga mat or dry it with tumble dryers.

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