The Truth about Bamboo as an Eco-Friendly Fabric
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Bamboo
For the last several years, designers and eco-fashion editors have been singing the praises of bamboo as an alternative to conventionally grown cotton for clothing (myself included). I have lots of bamboo pieces in my closet, the first one from Bamboosa several years ago and since then, I’ve added more dresses, tees, & tanks. But is bamboo the “miracle” plant and eco-friendliest fabric it’s made out to be? Not really.
Pros:
- Bamboo is the world’s fastest growing plant - which contributes to it’s sustainability and renew-ability.
- Bamboo CAN be grown without pesticides (although it’s not always) - conventional cotton production can use some of the most harmful pesticides available.
- Bamboo requires little or no irrigation
- Bamboo fabric feels like silk - and it drapes beautifully. In my opinion, it’s a bit heavier than cotton, but because of this, it fall so nicely on the body.
Cons:
- Just because bamboo CAN be grown without pesticides doesn’t necessarily mean that it IS. Check the organic certification of whoever you’re buying from to make sure it’s also organic.
- Bamboo fiber CAN be extracted mechanically from the plant (a labor-intensive and time-consuming process, albeit more eco) - but is is also extracted chemically, using a “cocktail of chemical solvents” which are NOT environmentally friendly.
- In China - where most bamboo comes from - farmers are engaging in de-forestation to increase production of bamboo.
The truth is, that there’s a lot of information out there, and a lot of disagreement on whether bamboo should be adopted as an environmentally-friendly fabric. My OPINION is, that while Bamboo may not be the MOST environmentally-friendly fabric, it is MORE environmentally-friendly than conventional cotton. And more importantly, it has the potential to be entirely eco-friendly, depending on how the fiber is processed, and where it is grown. Bamboo grows on every continent - there’s no reason why apparel manufacturers in the US can’t source some of their Bamboo from the US. Over time, I’m hoping to see some major changes and cohesion across the industry so bamboo clothing CAN live up to all the eco-hype.
Do you own bamboo clothing? What do YOU think about bamboo as an enviromnentally-friendly alternative to conventional cotton? Is it a good tradeoff?
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3 Responses to “The Truth about Bamboo as an Eco-Friendly Fabric”
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Good topic to cover. While I’ve yet to purchase clothing made from bamboo (maybe now I’ll have to go out of my way to look for some), I’ve often written about bamboo as an alternative to wood in home improvement applications (I run a home and garden blog). I’d love to get bamboo flooring when it’s time to replace my existing floors.
[...] bamboo jersey, and the lovely detail at the bottom of silk trim. Now, while I’ve said that bamboo is NOT as eco-friendly as organic cotton (at least bamboo that is chemically processed), it IS better than conventional cotton, and I cannot [...]
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