Bamboo Clothing – Our Green Fashion Future

Filed in Green Fashion on March 4, 2010 with View Comments

Bamboo clothing? You might imagine spear-like skirts and tops that no one would dare wear unless it’s a costume party but when referring to bamboo clothing, it’s concerning the bamboo pulp content in the cloth.

The Green in Green Fashion

Green fashion is fast producing a statement, thanks to imperiled surroundings. But as green as green is, there is a bad reaction to bamboo clothing. True, the bamboo plant is not hard to grow. It is a natural pesticide and does not need a lot of water. It can replicate fast and grow as much as several feet. The description sounds great, but wait until you understand what goes into processing the bamboo pulp to make bamboo fabric.

In truth bamboo is really a cheap and safer alternative to expensive textiles and chemically treated fabrics. But the processing can send shivers down your spine if you understand what goes on when treating bamboo pulp to make bamboo fabric. Manufacturing price is also high and as a consequence, those passed off as bamboo fabric really feel like rayon when you touch it. Rayon isn’t an entirely synthetic fiber; it’s derived from plant cellulose but mixed with chemical substances to soften and color it.

Clothes passed off as 100% bamboo pulp has some doubts. Bamboo fabric producers also claimed that their products are organically grown, eco-friendly, and has normal occurring antibacterial properties, has UV ray protection and is biodegradable. The bamboo is indeed organically grown and eco-friendly and is also biodegradable but producers couldn’t bolster their claims about the antibacterial and UV ray safety of bamboo clothing.

Should you investigate the factories producing bamboo fabrics, you end up aghast at the waste products’ effect on nearby drinking water sources. The bamboo leaves and shoots are soaked in strong chemicals, for example caustic lye and other bleaching agents, and washed off to the water sources. These chemical substances can trigger severe health difficulties and as proof, the waterways near the factories have tested positive for toxins. Lastly, too much potable drinking water is used to clean the bamboo

This brouhaha over bamboo clothing might have its pros, as well. Producers of bamboo clothing will be encouraged to discover safer ways to procedure the bamboo, processes that won’t impact negatively with the drinking water and other environmental concerns. If this is so, individuals can look forward to bamboo and its future in green style.

What Now?

In case you are a fan of bamboo clothing because of its realistic silky feel and its ability not to retain odors, the “bamboo scare” could be a downer. Also, if you have been using bamboo clothing for your baby, keep in mind the chemicals used to procedure the bamboo. Your baby is better off with organic fabrics and so are you. Until the processing is made safer for workers, end-users, and also the environment, it will be a lengthy wait for bamboo to take towards the eco-friendly style – 100% safe bamboo materials. But technology will find a way; if man landed on the moon, man can also solve this issue.

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  • According to Christina Binkley of The Wall Street Journal, she reports:

    The bamboo used in textiles has to be heavily manipulated to go from stem to store. To create fabric, it's chopped up and dissolved in toxic solvents—the same process that recycles wood scraps into viscose or rayon. Indeed, bamboo fabric technically is rayon.
  • Disappointed
    Not only is your writing amateurish and filled with grammatical errors and serious sentence-flow issues, your information, stated as fact, is absolutely false. The chemicals used to process bamboo into fabric are no different from what is used in other fabric manufacturing. In this way, bamboo is on par with other fabrics. In so many other ways though, bamboo fabric is worlds above other fabrics in its "green factor." So the "bamboo scare" should not be a "downer" to anyone. And the suggestion that someone should reconsider using bamboo fabrics because the fabric is somehow loaded with harmful chemicals is both false and irresponsible.

    This is just a blog, but you still have an obligation to investigate your facts before spewing crap. Like Mo said, if you have proof of any of this, let's see it.
  • Mo
    Since I wrote my original comment I have had contact with Michelle who was the 'poster' of this article but not the 'author'. This is what she said.

    "In regards to your note here, I haven't researched the topic 'cause it's a PLR article from Green PLR that I use periodically for time saving.

    I'd be more than happy to research it and place another post about it on my blog but today is a special day so I'm taking a break.

    I'll check out your comment tomorrow and I do appreciate you taking the time to respond to the post. I definitely like feedback."

    So, Michelle didn't write this article or do any research to vet it. I have seen this same article on two other blogs so I would assume this is a common practice.

    If I was a 'blogger' but didn't have time to actually do research and write something, I would make sure my source could be trusted. Whatever source this article came from should be subject to further scrutiny.

    I will be interested to see what Michelle has to say further to this discussion.

    Mo
  • Yes, I did post this article but I'm also not the author due to the fact this article is from a source I use occasionally for articles. I am interested in now researching bamboo clothing further to see where the information was obtained. I've always trusted my source for these articles but will now take it with a grain of salt when using them. Thanks for the feedback!
  • Mo
    You state the following, "Should you investigate the factories producing bamboo fabrics, you end up aghast at the waste products’ effect on nearby drinking water sources. The bamboo leaves and shoots are soaked in strong chemicals, for example caustic lye and other bleaching agents, and washed off to the water sources. These chemical substances can trigger severe health difficulties and as proof, the waterways near the factories have tested positive for toxins."

    I'd like to see one example of what you are stating here as a fact. You have made some serious accusations against these unnamed 'factories producing bamboo fabrics'.

    Please point me to any test that has been conducted on 'waterways near the factories' that have tested positive for toxins related to bamboo fabric production. I don't believe you have a speck of data to back up your charges. I believe you completely fabricated these statements. Please take this opportunity, here on your blog, to prove me wrong.

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