Bamboo....did you know?

I have talked about bamboo before, but I am putting out a little more information.


Ok...here we go...... DID YOU KNOW?

Bamboo is better for you:

• Fabric made from bamboo is incredibly soft That's just the way it is, naturally. Wearing a bamboo T-shirt for example, is like wearing cashmere, but for next to the skin. 

• Bamboo fabric is smooth and luxuriously comfortableAt a microscopic level, bamboo fibre has a round surface.  Because of this, it’s very smooth and sits perfectly next to the skin.  Petrol based synthetic fibres can sometimes irritate the skin and they also start to smell really quickly

• ‘Bamboo Dry’ – absorbs and evaporates sweat in a split second.  It doesn’t stick to the skin.  Its extraordinary natural breathability keeps you comfortable and dry for longer.

• ‘Bamboo Thermo-control’ – bamboo fabric is highly breathable in hot weather and also keeps you significantly warmer in the cold.  Keeping you more comfortable in all temperatures -  ‘Air conditioned clothing’

• Bamboo clothing is anti static, so it sits very well next to your skin, not clinging to it.  It's also UV protective (it cuts out 98% of harmful UV rays) and anti fungal, so it's just better, whether it's on you in the Alps or stuffed at the bottom of your bag for days on end.

And it gets better.....better for the environment:

• Bamboo is 100% naturally grown, without assistance from man. Bamboo is 100% sustainable

• Bamboo thrives naturally without using any pesticides or fertilizers

• Bamboo fibre is 100% biodegradable

• As the fastest growing plant in the world, bamboo grows to its maximum height in about 3 months and reaches maturity in 3-4 years.  It spreads rapidly across large areas.  Because of this, bamboo is known to improve soil quality in degraded and eroded areas of land.

• As a grass, bamboo is cut, not uprooted, also helping soil stability.  Bamboo also can grow on hill slopes where nothing else is viable.

• The yield (i.e. the amount of product) you get from an acre of bamboo is 10 times greater than the yeld you get from cotton.  In an age where land use is under enormous pressure this is huge.That an acre of bamboo supplies about 10 times more fibre than an acre of cotton?  Without using any pesticides at all.  Or fertilizers.

• The water requirement for bamboo is minute, mainly just from what falls.  As opposed to cotton, whose water requirement per shirt's-worth is huge.

• If clothing made from bamboo becomes popular, it means more bamboo plantations, which means more photosynthesis and less greenhouse gas.  “The greatest challenge facing mankind” would get just a little easier.

In contrast.....

• Synthetic performance fabrics are made from petrochemicals, a non-renewable fossil fuel. They go to make clothes which get smelly really quickly. 

Clothing made from bamboo is nature's answer to our needs for everyday fabric, in an environmentally sustainable form.  It's just our luck that it's so much better as well!

My family wears bamboo clothing,  we use bamboo sheets and towels, I use bamboo batting and fabric in my quilts and bags that I make for Etsy.  If you visit my shop, you will  see that I also use organic cotton, hemp and linen.