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from Natural Life magazine, March/April
2009
Bamboo Textiles: Green, Luxurious and Practical
by Ed Mass
Bamboo has
garnered a lot of attention in the fashion industry as well as for everyday
textiles like sheets, towels and robes. The attention is due to its potential
environmental friendliness combined with its luxuriously soft feel, flowing
drape and many other positive properties.
What’s So Great About Bamboo?
There are more than 1,000 bamboo species. This diversity makes it more adaptable
to different climatic zones than most other softwoods. It can grow over
approximately 70 percent of the earth’s land area. And it is a one of the most
renewable resources on Earth.
Bamboo is abundantly available in many rural areas where
economic development is limited, so it can offer a social benefit as well.
Through research and development of more ways to utilize bamboo, rural areas are
afforded an opportunity to maintain their culture and lifestyle while improving
their economic situation.
Bamboo’s versatility is evidenced by its use for income, food and housing.
Different species are used for different purposes, including food for Pandas,
humans and livestock, woven handcraft products such as baskets and mats, textile
products, ingredients for Chinese medicines and construction of flooring, fences
and roofing.
Bamboo for Clothes?
Bamboo makes a wonderful clothing material. Due to its hollow fiber, it has
unusual breathing capabilities. The fiber is filled with micro gaps and micro
holes, which allow for better moisture absorption and ventilation than other
fibers.
Comfort: Bamboo apparel is comfortable, very breathable, moisture-wicking, fast
drying and thermal regulating. Bamboo fabric is anti-static so it doesn’t cling.
It is often described as having the “ultra softness of cashmere and the sheen
(luster) of silk.”
Antibacterial: Bamboo is naturally antibacterial due to a bio-agent called
“kun,” which resists the growth of bacteria on the fiber. This is normally
carried through to the finished product, allowing it also to resist the growth
of...
To read the rest of
this article,
subscribe to Natural Life's
online edition.
Ed Mass is President and founder of
Yes It’s Organic, an online store for organic, fair labor, and eco- friendly
goods. After being an environmentalist for over 40 years, he decided to
participate more directly in growing the organic, fair labor and eco-friendly
industries by educating consumers and influencing their buying habits.
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