What You Need to Know about Bamboo Clothing
My previous article on bamboo talked about how sustainable the plant is, and the many things it can be used for. But I also said that bamboo clothing has a dark side.
Many clothing manufacturers tell you about the wonderful properties of bamboo – but happily “forget” to add that their processes strip those benefits away!
Here’s what you need to know
Bamboo’s hardiness is an asset while growing, but it makes it difficult to make into the fibres required for clothing. So manufacturers use chemicals to break it down.
Or (worse), they manufacture it into rayon – a semi-synthetic fibre which pollutes and eliminates most of bamboo’s wonderful properties such as odour elimination, and it’s not biodegradable.
And then of course there are the manufacturers who tell you their clothing is made from bamboo but it may only be a tiny percentage of bamboo.
Plus, bamboo might be called “organic” because most of it is grown that way, but it can’t be certified organic if the manufacturing process uses chemicals.
So, there’s “greenwashing” in bamboo.
What to check for
If you truly want bamboo clothing with its wonderful qualities, check:
- The percentage of bamboo in the garment (don’t pay for bamboo if it’s only a tiny percentage)
- That it doesn’t contain rayon
- Try to find out if the manufacturer is certified for a “closed–loop” system (the chemicals are reused and never released into the environment), for example oeko-tex on the label).
Bamboo vs. Cotton
How does bamboo compare to cotton – another product heavily used in clothes?
Well, cotton is pretty horrible in its environmental footprint. More than 20% of ALL pesticides used globally, are used on cotton. It takes around 250 gallons / almost 1,000 litres of water to make just one t-shirt!
Organic cotton is grown without the use of chemicals, so it’s much better, but it still uses a lot of water, both while growing and during manufacture.
“Natural” cotton means nothing (arsenic is also “natural”). I don’t consider something doused with toxic chemicals during its growth, to be “natural”.
Which Should I Choose?
Both cotton and bamboo put a heavy toll on the environment in terms of their manufacturing into clothing, and both materials often travel vast distances between growing and manufacturing and your home.
However, in terms of growing, bamboo wins hands down – it doesn’t need toxic chemicals to grow (cotton does), it needs far less water (cotton is very thirsty), and bamboo provides habitat and food for animals as well as erosion protection, while cotton requires large amounts of land and doesn’t provide a safe habitat or food. Bamboo also absorbs carbon (helps with our greenhouse gases) as it grows, cotton does not.
As an aside, pesticide use causes thousands of human deaths each year, not to mention birds. And it runs off into rivers and streams, untreated.
Which will I buy?
If an item of clothing has a large percentage of bamboo, I’ll buy bamboo over cotton any day.
(And it feels great too).
What’s Next? Bamboo use in other products (e.g. flooring) – what to look out for.
[…] Like everything else, it has its pros and cons. I talk about the issues with bamboo in my next post. I’ll tell you what to look out for, so you’ll know you’re buying The Right […]
Good tips on how to buy proper bamboo clothing. I just thought all bamboo clothes were good! Thanks for the tips!
Great tips on Bamboo. Being used more and more in the construction and furniture businesses – wonder how much ‘greenwashing’ is going on there that we don’t know about.
[…] my previous articles on bamboo, and bamboo clothing, I’ve had a lot of queries about eco friendly flooring in the home or […]
I thought this article was super-interesting. I didn’t know that about bamboo or cotton. Hmm, I guess wearing any kind of clothing is not so great for the environment? 🙂
Stay Cool!
Naomi
LOL Naomi, perhaps going back to the fig leaf would be best! (A little chilly though in Winter!). Yes, it’s good to know what goes into the things we buy. Thanks for your comment!
I recenyly blogged about a hybrid competing for a prize at an upcoming Chinese bike expo. The high-stress portions of the frame are not bamboo. A follower emailed me to say that someone in Milwaukee is producing boocycles as well. Very expensive of course, but still pretty cool. I installed bamboo floors in my place in Madison, liking the look of them and the environmental aspect of an easy to renew source. But one wonders about the process of treating the wood to form the planks, the aluminum oxide urethane finish, and just the fact that it must ship from far far away, likely China (which opens up a whole different can of worms re: quality control, ecology and ethics). I read about a guy growing bamboo in his yard in Pennsylvania. It is quite adaptable in that respect, but detractors will point out it is an aggressive and potentially invasive species in that case. Perhaps Ray can comment on that from his previous life as a botanist, EPA investigator and industrial engineer.
Thanks for your comment! Bamboo certainly needs to be controlled – it grows wonderfully quickly which is great when you want to harvest it, and not so good when you don’t want it to spread.
I thought you gave a very balanced look in your article. In the end, you said you’d chose bamboo for the main reasons that I would: the benefits it has while its growing.
[…] Bamboo Clothes – are you being Bamboozled? […]