If you've spent any time shopping for new clothes in the past few
months you've no doubt seen bamboo clothing almost everywhere. But if
you've done any research on the growing of bamboo and manufacturing
process for bamboo clothing, you've also seen a lot of conflicting
reports on the eco-friendliness of bamboo clothing. As with any
business these days, you'll see companies touting their "natural"
products as safe or eco-friendly, when in fact they may be worse than
traditional products. The same goes for bamboo clothing manufacturers.
At this time, there is currently no organic certification for bamboo
clothing. Now bamboo is easy to grow naturally, it grows like a weed
and does not need any pesticides or insecticides to survive. The reason
there are is currently no organic certification for bamboo clothing is
partly due to how new bamboo clothing is, and how slow out bureaucratic
USDA certification process is. Also, when it comes to breaking down
bamboo and turning into the soft fiber we see in clothing stores, there
are some questionable processes.
There are two ways to process bamboo, mechanically or chemically.
The mechanical process involves crushing the woody parts of the bamboo
plant and using natural enzymes to break down the bamboo walls into a
mushy mass so the natural fibers can be combed out and spun into yarn.
If the manufacturer uses this process the clothing can be truly
organic, and eco-friendly, however its also a lot more expensive. With
no organic certification available, many manufacturers don't feel the
need to implement this system yet.
The chemical process, most highly discussed in the media, uses
sodium hydroxide (lye) to soften the bamboo fibers into spinable yarn
(many high end cosmetics and soaps use the same process). The negative
impact of using this method involves the workers in the manufacturing
facilities who may be coming in contact with the lye, especially in
developing nations that may not provide the proper safety equipment for
their workers. Lye, however does not remain a toxic residue on clothing
as it easily washes away.
If you want to purchase environmentally safe bamboo clothing your
best bet is to check with the manufacturer to find out if their bamboo
manufacturing process is mechanical (such as the bamboo baby clothing
on our web store) or chemical like many other companies. Otherwise, you
may want to wait until the USDA gets their act together and makes
certification plausible.