Beste
Nederlandse lezers, excuses voor een stukje in het Engels. Dat doe ik omdat ik
deze keer schrijf over een product van een buitenlands bedrijf. Volgende keer
schrijf ik weer in het Nederlands.
This
year I will be traveling extensively. I find traveling interesting but also physically demanding. Being
away from home I tend to eat less healthy food and neglect my work out
schedule. For once I would like to stay fit while traveling. My usual work out
schedule consists of running, biking and gym exercises (at home). Since I am
not sure to what extent my destination allows me to continue running and
biking, I definitely intend to continue doing my gym exercises at home.
My usual excuse for
skipping my exercises while on the road is not having an exercise mat.
Therefore I recently started looking for such a mat on the internet. It must be
durable, light, foldable, yet comfortable and produced in an sustainable
way. It did not take long before I landed at the Manduka homepage.
Manduka is a brand that
specializes in yoga gear. They sell yoga mats, towels, bags, and more. On
Manduka's well-designed website, they give the impression that their products
are totally green and sustainable. The travel mat that I am after just seems
perfect. It is even called "eKO SuperLite Travel Mat". Wow. Green,
light and made for traveling. Exactly what I am looking for:
"The newest
addition to the eKO Collection of biodegradable natural rubber mats, the eKO
SuperLite is the best yoga mat for yogis on the go, providing superior grip on
carpet or hard surfaces, yet weighs only about 2 lbs. and folds to fit easily
in your travel bag, suitcase or purse! These eco yoga mats are made of a
natural, biodegradable material that won't flake or fade like other mats on the
market. The eKO SuperLite will leave no footprint in landfills, and is the
ideal yoga travel mat for people who want to make a commitment to our planet
and take their yoga practice on the road."
Wow again. That sounds
fabulous. Too bad the mat was sold out.
So I waited a few weeks
till the mat was available again and then ordered it.
My policy for online
shopping is that I only shop if the package is send to me without using any
plastic. If not, I place my order elsewhere or simply shop downtown. To be
sure, I usually contact the store before I order anything. However, since the
entire Manduka website breathes sustainability, I assumed they must have a
plastic policy similar to mine. So in the process of ordering this mat
rather than sending a pre-order email, I asked in the comments field to not use
any plastic in my package. I also required that if this was for some reason not
possible, that they would contact me so that I could reconsider my order.
Yesterday the package
arrived. Considering I ordered a foldable! yoga mat that is 180 cm long and 60
cm wide and only weighs about 1 kg, I was a little surprised about the size and
weigh of my package (1,7 kg!).
The package had loads of
tape on it. I was a little disappointed, but since their green promises online
and my zero-plastic request, I expected inside the box it would be fine.
It wasn't.
Not only did the mat
come with loads of tape, the mat itself was wrapped in plastic! And not only
one layer of plastic, but TWO. The inner plastic being even thicker than the
outer layer.
"This packaging is
made from recycled plastic" is no excuse. There is simply no need for a
(second) wrapper. If one would want to use a wrapper at all, I would suggest
one made of a non-plastic, natural material that can be re-used whenever I roll
and transport my mat.
Ironically, the inner
layer of plastic says:
"Earth loving"
and
"eKO"
and
"eco friendly"
Sending so much plastic
while "wanting to make a commitment to our planet", I am not sure how
to interpret their claims about the mat itself: "free of toxic
chemicals" and "made from biodegradable, non-Amazon harvested,
natural tree rubber". How sustainable are you really if you send thick
plastic that is completely unnecessary and unwanted by the customer? No
more Manduka purchases for me.
