Is Bamboo an Eco-Friendly Alternative to Cotton?

In the fashion world, bamboo has become a favorite for yoga wear and dance clothes due to its very soft texture. Bamboo is also touted to be a sustainable alternative to cotton.

Bamboo, the plant, is very sustainable. The plant is, in fact, categorized as grass and can grow a yard a day. Bamboo also does not need to be replanted after harvesting because its vast root network continually sprouts new shoots. Not only does bamboo grow fast but it is a natural pesticide and therefore does not require any additional harmful toxins (and also does not need to be genetically modified) and is also naturally anti-bacterial.

The problem arises when we talk about bamboo clothing. While the clothing retains its anti-bacterial properties, the fact remains that the production of bamboo pulp into yarn is full of dangerous toxins. The process is created from two different processes:

1. Chemical – uses sodium hydroxide to “cook” the wood fiber and also carbon disulfide for the bleaching process. This process produces what is known as bamboo rayon.

2. Mechanical – machines crush up the woody parts of the bamboo plant where the natural enzymes are used to break the bamboo which is then spun into yarn.
Unfortunately the chemical processing is the most popular method of production as it is not as labor intensive or costly as the mechanical processing. Due to the growing popularity of bamboo clothing, there have been increased reports of clear-cutting sections of forest in order for large bamboo plant harvests. Not only that but the transportation of bamboo to and from manufacturing plants definitely contributes to the global pollution.

Bamboo for the most part can be considered fairly sustainable although not entirely organic. Despite the faults of bamboo clothing, it is still much more environmentally friendly than cotton and is a welcome addition the textile industry.

Thoughts By Scott

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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John S.

3:18AM PDT on May 8, 2011

The cloth from bamboo is as soft as silk, more absorbent than cotton, and contains natural antimicrobial agents, but I am concerned about the environmental impact of cutting vast natural stands of bamboo - however much of America’s lands are suitable for growing bamboo which leads to a win-win solution as it sequesters large quantities of carbon dioxide.

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Robert P.

9:52AM PST on Mar 9, 2011

Bamboo takes about 7 10 yr to establish rhizome root systems and culms . culms reach full hight in 60days each spring, the culm will not grow taller after that, then takes 3 or 4 yrs to harden and will get more leaves. If you cut half of the mature culms it will come back no problem. Might take a bit longer than if you only take 30% but will survive as long ast the root system does.

9:45AM PST on Mar 9, 2011

Cotton naturally takes more water. What has happened though is that farming it is taking more and more inputs genie cotton takes more water, fertilizer and then you have round up (since its round up ready) I don't want that in my clothes or food.
Organic cotton is still a bit hard on the fields, but rotating with other crops such as beans, canolla or flax will help rebuild.
We are starting an organic farm and looking at bamboo as a crop. The real problem is going to get syngenta, cargill and monsatno out of the mix. They are poisoning our food supply for profit and monopolistic control over seeds.

Geotech L.

8:49AM PST on Feb 23, 2011

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Catherine B.

4:11PM PDT on Oct 8, 2010

Having first suggested bamboo for undies from Target I have to say that after reading all the comments and doing the research, bamboo still comes up trumps. It will have to be the way of the future. Less toxic chemicals are used in the processing than in cotton, and in the production of cotton, the chemicals are so toxic that here in Australia, where cotton has not been grown for very long - a couple of decades, the serious medical conditions that are occurring in the area where the cotton is grown is alarming. These new chemicals would not have been used in previous times. Not to mention the depletion of natural water courses that is having severe effect on the total water distribution of 3 states. It is just not a viable product any more. So back to bamboo. I have just purchased a 100% guaranteed bamboo top - it is the most beautiful fabric that I have worn next to my skin. At $60 it isnt cheap, however I did get it in a sale so I am as happy as!
Bamboo is not Rayon though they may use a similar process in the manufacture.
Having purchased a hemp shirt for my husband years ago which was virtually hand woven by the local hippie community, it was a wonderful product, however, it always looked like a crushed bag. The T-shirts were better, but the colours were not desirable! Cant have everything.
So do your bit for the environment and invest in bamboo, the benefits far out-way any negatives that can be put up on this question - AND IT IS SIMPLY DIVINE!
Cheers

An H.

2:35AM PDT on Aug 6, 2010

By the way, if you want to know more about bamboo in textiles please follow this links:

http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/bamboozled/

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/sensuous-sensible-sustainable-sheets.html

2:31AM PDT on Aug 6, 2010

Bamboo clothing from mechancially made bamboo looks more like linen or rami. The cost is around 10 times higher than cotton so it is not easy to find. There is only one company in China that can make this fibre according to the latest news.

Eureco M.

10:25PM PDT on Jul 7, 2010

www.eureco.com.au for 100% bamboo fibre towels, mats and bathrobes.

JC N.

12:12AM PST on Feb 7, 2010

Question: can ANYONE provide a list of authentic enviromentally-friendly bamboo clothiers (online vendors &/or store names)? Not just yoga clothes, but towels, bed linens, etc.?

9:23AM PDT on Mar 12, 2009

I don't get /have time to keep up with every comment.
What is harsh about Bamboo is the chemical process that makes the fiber break down to make rayon yarn. Mechanical means can be used with substantially produced power to run the equipment.
Bamboo does have massive die off about once every century, directly after it blooms, from my reading they are all clones(each species is a clone of the parent plant and they all bloom and only sometimes seed) then the mother plant dies back. Honestly once a century is not bad. The bamboo plant is the part underground in the Rhizomes, that is the food genetic storage, the culm is dispensable it does produce the food by photosynthesis that is stored in the rhizome.
I don't know how much/many of the culms you can cut without killing the mother plant, but I have started some bamboo in my yard by digging up 2 pieces of rhizome from my old back yard. One had a small culm on it the other was one I had cut the culm off for use as a tent pole. Now a year later the one w/o culm put up one that is now the same size as the one planted with culm, but has more shoots, like 4 the one with a culm has 2 shoots. It does not seem to have made much difference. The mother grove covered about 1/2 a city block, I have no idea when it was planted, but my culms are about 6 ft tall, the grove had culms up to 40 , but it was in dense shade, mine in full sun. I m not sure of species, it looks like hybrid of moso and gigantica(USnative).