The story

As a yoga teacher I was looking for a mat topper that was practical yet performant, but also non-toxic and made from 100% sustainable provenance, (I know it was a lot to ask) and surprisingly I couldn’t find a product in the market that was completely eco-friendly and provided those moisture activated non-slip and protection qualities I needed. I tried many alternatives and they were either eco-friendly, but not performant enough or non-slip but not from a sustainable source. 

The versatility and practicality of the towel was surprisingly another struggle. The towels and topers available were either too thin (which provided almost no protection during a practice, or they were thick and heavy, and non-washable. A natural anti-microbial spray is nice, but I want to be able to get all the toxins in my sweat completely out! (Yes I’m a bit germaphobic and OCD).

This is where the creation of the perfect workout towel started! I started with research into sustainable materials, such as recycled, renewable or biodegradable, which surprisingly is still not common enough in the manufacturing world due to the higher cost incurred in production of the raw material. To arrive to the performance needed with 100% sustainability goals the material was narrowed to rPet - which is a polyester made from recycled plastic bottles, and can be 100% re-recycled again. Awesome right! Then came the development and testing for the perfect fabric consistency - rPet polyester can be woven into different textures. I took the different sample towels to practice and test with other yogis, in studios, on the mats and directly on the floors, on the beach on the dry sand and the wet sand, on outside surfaces like cement, wood panels and grass, to finally develop the perfect woven mix - with an option of additional silicone dots for extra grip and support! 

The Towel

LÉGER towels are 1.5mm thick and made of 2 different surfaces: a soft ultra absorbant vegan suede on the top, and a dense felt like fabric at the back for support and moisture wick properties. Each towel is made from 12 to 18 plastic bottles, that are prevented from going in our oceans and landfills. Yay! And the towel itself is also 100% re-recyclable and can be reused! Yes we can have a performant product which is also 100% sustainable!

The Design

Now that I had the perfect towel, I wanted the design to be as beautiful as it was sustainable and performant. For me a yoga practice is a sacred time. It’s a space where one allows oneself to just be, and be present. I wanted the designs and the colors to reflect this inner peace and strength. Multiple design directions were explored, but I didn’t want to settle on something commercial. I wanted something small batch, unique, I wanted the towel to express creativity, for every owner using the towel to feel and appreciate their beauty, strength and emotional power. Like art. So I reached out to artists whose work I had a strong connection with and co-developed our first collection Utsana, which means strength, power.

Find out more about the Artist behind the Art here