Sustainability

Sustainability is at the heart of our business. 

We are committed to being a conscious and climate-friendly business which means working with intention and integrity. Therefore, we are open about all aspects of our supply chain, so you know exactly what you are buying, how it was made, and how it travels to you. 

In order to keep our prices as low as possible for our customers, as well as to ship globally, we source our products from a factory in China. We are very pleased with our supplier and have formed an incredibly close and personal relationship with them. The Zoya team has over 40 years of experience working with factories in Asia which has enabled us to ensure that our products are manufactured in the most sustainable way possible. 

The factory that we work with is regularly audited for us to ensure that the team and the factory are working in accordance to ethical wages and working hours, as well as ethical and safe manufacturing processes and working conditions. 

After testing many materials and products, we decided to go with two different materials for our mats so that we could meet the needs of our customers. Some yogis prefer to have a lightweight and easily transportable mat (Affinity Mat) and others may prefer to practice on a larger and more luxurious mat (Freedom Mat). 

Product materials 

Affinity Mat 

Our Affinity Mat is made from environmentally-friendly TPE. It is free of PVC and similar harmful chemicals. To make a mat out of TPE, the material is melted and formed into the yoga mat shape. This process uses much less energy overall than other mats such as PVC (which is the most commonly used material for yoga mats). Additionally, TPE itself is a biodegradable material and is completely recyclable. Therefore, you can be sure that these mats will not contribute to any landfills as they can be remoulded into other TPE products. 

Freedom Mat 

Our Freedom Mat is handcrafted from sustainably sourced natural tree rubber and  eco-polyurethane (vegan). The natural tree rubber comes from the sap of a tropical tree called Hevea Brasiliensis, or more commonly known as a rubber tree. The sap, a thick liquid known as latex in its natural form, is elastic. Therefore, the rubber is synthesised from latex and makes an extremely durable and resistant material. It is non-toxic and tasteless. The rubber is then combined with a thin eco-polyurethane (vegan) layer, which is a biodegradable plastic and is easily recycled. This layer allows the Freedom Mat to have an incredible, non-slip grip.

Cork Yoga Block 

Our yoga blocks are made from sustainable cork. This is a renewable resource, with no trees being cut down to obtain the cork. Instead, it is harvested every 9-12 years. We decided to use cork because it is also biodegradable, recyclable and it is free from PVC or similar chemicals. Additionally, any waste that is made during production goes back into making more cork products. 

More details 

All of our products are 100% vegan. We do not test on animals. 

Our packaging is 100% recyclable and we use as little packaging as possible. 

Zoya only transports our products via ocean freight as it has a significantly better carbon footprint than air freight. 

We are the first and only yoga brand in the United Kingdom to exclusively partner with a carbon neutral fulfilment warehouse. If you'd like to know more about our fulfilment practices, you can visit our partner Airbox Fulfilment.

As part of our CSR initiative, we donate to local community projects in and around London. This initiative also includes environmentally friendly charities and sustainability projects. 

If for any reason you no longer wish to keep your yoga mat or accessories after use, we recommend donating to one of the following locations: 

• Recycling programme
• Local charity
• Nearby yoga studio or gym 
• Rehabilitation centre
• A college, school, or nursery 

Please always kindly clean your item before giving it away.

It is important to note that we strive to be as sustainable as possible, but we understand there is always more we can do. We work extremely hard as a team to come up with innovative solutions and continuously look for ways to become more environmentally friendly. We hope that as we grow we will be able to gain access to more resources and continue to better our business.