I’ve already written about the great eco possibilities of adding bamboo to your home in place of wood or other, less sustainable materials. Bamboo is a sustainable resource for flooring, wall treatments, furniture and accessories and other household products but, with the growing popularity of bamboo fabrics, is it a good choice for your home’s textiles? Let’s take a look.

Bamboo textiles have a lot going for them:

Bamboo fabric is naturally anti-microbial, hypoallergenic and thermal regulating. It is also resistant to mould. After multiple washings, over 70% of the bacteria cultured on bamboo textiles are destroyed by the fiber. Bamboo breathes and wicks moisture away due to its porous nature. Bamboo also has an excellent drape and a silky-cashmere feel.

Initially, I thought that bamboo fabrics were a great eco alternative to manmade fabrics and some of it is but much of the bamboo products flooding the market are made using chemical processes that are harmful to the environment, the workers that process the material and to you, the consumer.

Recently, the manufacturing of bamboo textiles has come under increasing scrutiny. This is because most manufacturers are choosing to use the same methods used in the manufacturing of rayon, a product derived from wood using dangerous chemicals:

Most bamboo fabric that is the current eco-fashion rage is chemically manufactured by “cooking” the bamboo leaves and woody shoots in strong chemical solvents such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH – also known as caustic soda or lye) and carbon disulfide in a process also known as hydrolysis alkalization combined with multi-phase bleaching. Both sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide have been linked to serious health problems. Breathing low levels of carbon disulfide can cause tiredness, headache and nerve damage. Carbon disulfide has been shown to cause neural disorders in workers at rayon manufacturers. Low levels of exposure to sodium hydroxide can cause irritation of the skin and eyes. Sodium hydroxide is a strong alkaline base also known as caustic soda or lye. In its dry crystalline form, caustic soda is one of the major ingredients of Drano.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to this damaging process. Bamboofabric.ca lists three green practices for the manufacture of bamboo textiles:

1. Lyocell process: this is the “good” chemical way to create the bamboo fabric. It is also Close-loop, meaning that any chemicals are recycled and reused. The Bamboo cellulose is dissolved in methylmorpholine-N-oxide to create a viscose solution. It is a weaker alkaline that helps break down the cellulose structure. To stabilize this structure, Hydrogen peroxide is added, the mix is forced through spinnerets into a hardening pool, which usually consists of water and methanol, ethanol or a comparable alcohol. It then causes the thin streams of viscose bamboo solution to solidify into bamboo cellulose fibre threads. The new bamboo fibre is then spun into a bamboo yarn for knitting or weaving into a fabric. Since the manufacturing process is closed-loop, 99.5% of the chemicals used are recycled and reused. Also, methylmorpholine-N-oxide is non-toxic which makes this process significantly healthier and eco-friendly.
2. Bamboo linen: This is the mechanical was to create bamboo fabric. First the woody parts of the bamboo plant are crushed to apply natural enzymes that will break the bamboo walls into a soft mass. The natural fibres are then combed out and spun into a yarn.
3. Nano-technologies: This process dries and burns the bamboo to reduce it into charcoal. It then embeds the nano particles into organic cotton or polyester fibres. The trapped bamboo charcoal is then woven or knitted into a fabric.

Bamboo products are not required to provide consumers with accurate information about their manufacturing process although, this is changing in some countries such as Canada which, later this year, will be requiring full disclosure on all bamboo products.

Should you refrain from purchasing bamboo textiles? Not necessarily.

Companies that manufacture organic bamboo are gaining ground as the rayon controversy spreads throughout green communities. Look for organic labelling on the products you’re considering or, better yet, choose companies who’s product have been Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified. Look for the logo before you buy.

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