Skip to main content
  1. Action
  2. Lifestyle
  3. Yoga Mat Upcycling DIY
Yoga Mat Upcycling DIY

Yoga Mat Upcycling DIY

Updated 5 March 2018 02:56 PM

Yoga Mats are one of the most useful and versatile things. They have at least a thousand ways to either upcycle or reuse them, starting with using them to protect your car and surfboard when heading to the waves and seconding as a sleeping mat.

Here are a few tips for your old mat that mostly came from my favourite Yoga Mat sellers, LovEarth and Cork Leaf: 

  • Stick it over your back seat in the car- great for kids or pets
  • Stop slippage on the workbench while using power tools 
  • Line kitchen shelves to prevent glasses from slipping and scratching 
  • Kneeling pads for the garden or while cleaning 
  • Use as kitchen drawer liners 
  • Cut your mat up to make a mouse pads 
  • Use as grip pads to open jar if your wrists are weak 
  • Cut to size and use as foot pads for the bottom of furniture 
  • Place it under your sleeping bag as a sleeping pad while camping 
  • Cover over sharp corners to avoid injury 
  • Surround and protect your valuables while moving or shipping 
  • Get creative and make children’s toys, create masks, hats, costumes etc. Cut into shapes and letters for tub and pool toys 
  • Use as liners under house plants 
  • Donate to nursing homes so that residents do not slip while getting in and out of bed 
  • Place between your surfboard & car to protect both from abrasion 
  • Lay it over the dashboard and steering wheel to keep the sun out! 
  • Place under an area rug for no-slip gripping Christmas Tree ornaments
  • Use your old mat to get dog & cat dishes stay put. 
  • Cut to size required Cut out shapes, letters and numbers for kids Kid’s Play area
  • Line kitchen shelves for sticky surfaces 
  • Smother weeds in your garden then remove and plant out 
  • Put on the walls of the garage so that the car doors are protected 
  • Shred and use under swings and monkey bars to cushion the drop for little people
  • Foot pads for the bottom of furniture that is on a wood or ceramic floor 
  • Cut into pieces for holding artificial flowers in vases 
  • Place it under your sleeping bag for extra padding or use as a door mat when camping
  • Put it in your baby or your great granny’s bath to stop them slipping 
  • Cut into strips and use for drainage in flower pots 
  • Put in your pet’s transport box to stop slipping 
  • Step treads for stairs 
  • Cut rounds or squares for coasters… maybe glue on laminated pictures! 
  • Put at your front door for muddy shoes 
  • Sound proofing in music studios or on the back of a piano

Pic: Upsplash | Autri Taheri
Something incorrect here? Suggest an update below:
Sustainability Blogger
Science Notes
Many Yoga Mats are are still made from polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, one of the more toxic plastics. PVC is also not biodegradable so it will be saluting the universe in landfill long after you and your yoga days have passed.

Some mats are made from Thermoplastic elastomer, TPE, which is a more  environmentally friendly than PVC, but there is still the issue of it not breaking down.

When purchasing a new mat, get one that is jute, natural rubber or cork if you can.
Related Tip

I really like the more sustainable materials used for yoga mats these days, like from Cork Leaf is an Australian company making natural and recycled cork and natural tree rubber mats. Cork Leaf mats are also 100 per cent biodegradable, so they can be safely put into the compost once they are worn out. 

Lovearth have set up an incredibly caring system for recycling or passing on Yoga Mats of any kind if you have one to pass on. 

Find a Recycler