"VAN" (Sports Desk - 19.09.2025) :: Upset Hindus are urging upscale German retailer Manufactum to immediately withdraw its yoga mat made from cow leather, calling it highly inappropriate.
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that this Manufactum yoga mat seemed ridiculing and offending two serious concepts of Hinduism—cow and yoga—and was hugely insensitive to Hindu feelings.
Scenario of yoga (profound, sacred and ancient discipline; introduced and nourished by Hinduism) being performed on a mat made from a slaughtered cow (the seat of many deities, which was sacred and had long been venerated in Hinduism) was painful to Hindu sentiments; Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, indicated.
Manufactum, which advocated “responsible consumption” and claimed “mindful and responsible approach to people and nature”, should not be in the business of religious appropriation, sacrilege, mocking serious spiritual practices and ridiculing entire communities; Rajan Zed noted.
Zed also urged Manufactum to offer a formal apology and be serious about its commitment of “treating people and nature with respect”.
Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.2 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Practices/concepts/traditions of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be ridiculed at; Rajan Zed stated.
Yoga, which found reference in world’s oldest extant scripture Rig-Veda and other early Hindu texts, is considered union with God, one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy, and mean for transforming consciousness and purification of the Self and attaining liberation. It involved withdrawal and its objective was the state of blissful liberation, Zed pointed out.
Manufactum claims that this “Yoga mat cowhide suede” (priced at € 449) as “environmentally friendly” and “suitable for dynamic yoga styles such as Ashtanga or Vinyasa yoga, powerful Kundalini or precise Iyengar yoga, but also for “endurance” styles such as Yin yoga”. Dimensions mentioned are: length 190 cm, width 65 cm, thickness 7 mm, weight 3.2 kg.
Manufactum, which claims to focus on “sustainability, natural ingredients”, is headquartered in Waltrop (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). Founded 1988, besides an online store, it has 11 department stores in Germany and Austria. It reportedly mainly deals in household and garden goods.
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