I have just bought a new Olfa cutting mat recently, and it has a faint smell to it but not that bad that it smells out the whole room. It is like bad rubber smell. I have bad allergies and if it was really bad I know I would not be able to sit in the same room with it!!!!! I am so glad I shopped around as the variation in prices for exactly the same thing was tremendous.
Gal
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Gal