Bamboo-derived fabrics are used to make a range of products from garments to bedding. Textiles produced from bamboo compare favourably to cotton and are often said to be softer with a more luxurious quality.  Compared to cotton crops that require large quantities of water, as well as significant use of chemicals in the form of pesticides, fertilisers and defoliants, bamboo textiles are considered a sustainable, eco-friendly alternative. But are they really?

At first glance, the answer seems obvious. Not only is bamboo fast growing, but it doesn’t require irrigation, fertiliser or pesticides. It regenerates after being cut and so can be continually harvested from the same rootstock to provide a renewable and sustainable resource. If left undisturbed, the roots stabilise hillsides and prevent soil erosion. However, like most products, bamboo is not without its drawbacks, and consumers should be mindful of the source of the bamboo products they purchase to ensure that they are in fact buying what they think to be an ethical alternative.

[pullquote]Bowyer concludes that “environmental concerns associated with bamboo production are remarkably similar to those associated with growing and harvesting wood”, and he recommends that “bamboo should be subjected to the same level of scrutiny as wood”[/pullquote]

Although claims that bamboo can regenerate without the need for replanting are true, Jim Bowyer, in a 2005 paper titled “Bamboo Flooring – Environmental Silver Bullet or Faux Savior?” says that such claims “ignore the reality that forests are being cleared to make way for bamboo plantations”. And although it is also true that bamboo requires “minimal fertilisation or pesticides”, as Bowyer, a professor and consultant in the field of wood science and bio-based products, notes, “Substantial use of both fertilisers and pesticides occurs in practice in order to obtain the kinds of yields often cited in promotional literature.”

Bowyer concludes that “environmental concerns associated with bamboo production are remarkably similar to those associated with growing and harvesting wood”, and he recommends that “bamboo should be subjected to the same level of scrutiny as wood”, remarking that it is “a curiosity that proponents of bamboo are not pursuing certification of bamboo, including development of criteria and indicators for sustainable harvesting and chain of custody monitoring”.

Certification is also recommended by Michael Lackman of the clothing company LotusOrganics.com. In “Bamboo Sprouting Green Myths”, posted on his Organicclothing.blogs.com website, he calls for organic bamboo certifications to be enacted to ensure that bamboo plantations are sustainably managed.

Also requiring scrutiny is the manufacturing process used to produce bamboo-derived textiles. Chemical processing is the most commonly used method that produces a silky and soft fabric. Mechanical processing produces a coarser linen-like fabric. This process retrieves bast fibre, which is fibrous material from the stems of plants. It is seldom used as it is a labour intensive and very expensive procedure. However, new processing techniques are being developed.

Although some online retailers suggest that soft bamboo-derived textiles are natural fibres, they are in fact rayon. The active-wear company Patagonia, in its online Footprint Chronicles, defines rayon as “a regenerated cellulose fiber, which means that a natural raw material is converted through a chemical process into a fiber that falls into a category between naturals and synthetics”. The source of the cellulose can be wood, paper, cotton fibre or bamboo.

Researchers at the University of Georgia in the United States tested seven bamboo-derived fabrics that were “purchased over the Internet from a variety of sources”. Using microscopy they found that the fibers in these fabrics are indeed rayon from bamboo-derived cellulose and are not bast fibres. The results of this study by Ian R. Hardin and colleagues were published in 2009 in the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colourists’s “AATCC Review”. The study also found, contrary to claims “widely circulated by marketers”, that these fabrics have no antimicrobial properties. The researchers go on to offer a further conclusion: “Rayon production is an inherently chemical-intensive and potentially polluting process. With this rayon coming from China, where environmental controls are rare, these fibers and the fabrics and garments made with them may be the least environmentally-friendly choice a consumer could make.”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States and the Canadian Competition Bureau have ruled that chemically processed fabrics made from bamboo must be labeled as rayon or viscose and not be misleadingly labelled as “bamboo”. An alert to consumers released by the FTC in 2009 states: “The soft ‘bamboo’ fabrics on the market today are rayon. They are made using toxic chemicals in a process that releases pollutants into the air. Extracting bamboo fibers is expensive and time-consuming, and textiles made just from bamboo fiber don’t feel silky smooth.” The statement also notes that there is no evidence that rayon made from bamboo retains the antimicrobial properties of the bamboo plant as is often claimed. “Even when bamboo is the ‘plant source’ used to create rayon, no traits of the original plant are left in the finished product.”

Because of environmental concerns related to manufacturing processes, active-wear company Patagonia “does not use rayon fabric or bamboo fabric made by the viscose process”.

Chemicals that are routinely used in the production of viscose rayon, including bamboo-derived rayon, include the toxic solvent carbon disulphide that can pose a health risk to rayon factory workers, and emissions from processing plants can pollute the air. Also used are sodium hydroxide and sulphuric acid. If not properly disposed of they can be hazardous contaminants of water systems. It is however possible for production to be done in a closed loop process so that chemicals can be captured and reclaimed during manufacture.

So how is the consumer to know if the processing of rayon derived from bamboo involves a closed loop system or not? Michael Lackman of LotusOrganics.com says that most bamboo-derived fabrics are made in China where it is difficult to get reliable data and information. To address this difficulty, producers and retailers of bamboo products should promote the establishment of third-party evaluation and certification standards.  The quality of finished goods as well as production and manufacturing processes need to be certified as conforming to established standards.

Until a more transparent process with certification protocols for the production and manufacture of bamboo-derived textiles is in place, the consumer should be wary of unsubstantiated claims of the eco-friendliness and alleged unique qualities of such fabrics.

Share This

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

About the author

EthicalLiving.com.au

1 Comment for Bamboo-derived textiles: How eco-friendly are they?