I've had fiskars mats for years-never had a single problem with any of them. No smell either. They go on sale often at Joann's. That said, I recently bought a large Martelli mat and I really like it. It's much thicker than the fiskars mats. I only bought it because of their 50% off sale and the good reviews of it here. Plus I have their rotary cutters and the blades haven't been great so I thought maybe using their mat would help.