06 Nov Bamboo Fabric – The Green Alternative to Cotton

It’s one thing to go organic with your food and home, but what about the clothes you wear?

Cotton has always been the go-to fabric for that comfy, soft natural look and feel, but as awareness about our impact on the environment, as well as the knock on health effects of what products we use and what chemicals we wear near to our skin increases, new alternatives are becoming available to fill the need for sustainable fashion that is both eco and body friendly.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF BAMBOO

Organic cotton material is also a viable option as it has been grown without the pesticides and chemicals that leech into the environment, so how does bamboo fabric compare?

1. Saves on water: Water is increasingly becoming a precious resource and growing bamboo uses a third of the water that cotton does. Cotton needs a lot of water to grow. To produce one cotton t-shirt takes as much water as one person would drink over a three year period.

2. Prevents soil erosion: Bamboo can grow in pretty poor quality soil, making an easy crop to grow. Not only that, but the roots help retain water in watershed areas due to their protective, tight hold on the soil. In contrast, growing cotton causes soil degradation due to the large amount of water that runs off from watering the cotton which leads to excessive salinisation of the soil, making eventually making it unsuitable for cultivation.

3. Less pesticides: Bamboo has no natural pests which means that cultivating it has less impact on the environment with the use of toxic chemical run-off from pesticides. Cotton often requires large amounts of pesticides, using 25% of the world’s pesticides and 17% of the world’s insecticides.

4. Sustainable: Bamboo grows really quickly and as the whole plant is never harvested it regrows quickly too and so is renewable and sustainable. Social Benefits: Because bamboo grows so easily, it’s accessible to those in rural areas and is a resource that can provide economic benefit to people in these areas

5. Removes greenhouse gases: Studies show that the equivalent amount of bamboo takes in more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produces 35 percent more oxygen than trees.

BENEFITS OF BAMBOO CLOTHING

So how do bamboo’s positive vibes translate into your clothing?

1. Easy to Dye: Organic and natural dyes take more quickly and easily with Bamboo, with less dye being necessary and a more vivid colour being created.

2. Biodegradable: Because Bamboo is a natural cellulose fibre, it’s biodegradable and will break down in soil micro-organisms and sunlight.

3. Hypoallergenic & soft: It’s been described as feeling like cashmere it’s so soft, so it won’t irritate your skin, and is even hypoallergenic for people who struggle to wear cotton and hemp.

4. Regulates body temperature: Bamboo has the ability to cool you down in hot weather and warm you up in cold. This also means it keeps you drier in hot weather and doesn’t stick to your skin.

5. Wrinkle Resistant: Bamboo needs less ironing than cotton as it tends to crease less, and at a lower temperature.

6. Antibacterial: Bamboo has a natural inbuilt factor the Japanese call “kun” that makes it antibacterial, so it doesn’t need as much washing, as microbes that cause smells don’t grow on it very easily.

Slip into some super-soft and comfy Bamboo fabric, check out the Boody Range of classic wear, women’s active-wear, baby clothing and accessories and menswear: made from organic bamboo and certified free of harmful chemicals. Or String Green’s range of bamboo bathroom accessories. As well as our beautiful range of reusable bamboo nappies for baba, from Fancy Pants.