Comments on: Bamboo Clothing: Green, or Greenwashed?

By: Online Voucher Codes

Online Voucher Codes — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:06:37 +0000

Shop online at http://www.coupons2record & get maximum benefits from Online Voucher Codes, coupon codes or promo codes, free shipping coupons, festival sale offers Free shipping coupon codes,vouchers, voucher codes, promotional codes, seasonal offers just visit site save Money Easily.

By: synthetic grass

synthetic grass — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:23:41 +0000

If that would save mother nature, then I’d go with it. It is economical and environmental friendly as well.

By: Diane MacEachern

Diane MacEachern — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:54:12 +0000

Thanks for your comments. I come down on the side of bamboo over conventional cotton. I also believe we need independent verification of product life cycles so we can have a much clearer picture of the pros and cons of anything we buy.

By: Bamboozled

Bamboozled — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 23:25:50 +0000

I think it’s useful to look at the potential downsides of promising new technologies, but I’m not sure this article properly contextualizes or quantifies the problems in the bamboo vs cotton debate. The major concern listed is the use of sodium hydroxide in the pulping stages of bamboo processing, but it’s not clear to me how this is different from the use of sodium hydroxide in cotton refinement (which uses it for the same purposes and is commonly used in organic-labeled cotton refinement). I also think it might be good to discuss the chemical itself in more detail. Whenever you list something as a harmful chemical it’s important to distinguish how harmful it is (dihydrogen monoxide – water – is fatal in large doses)… in this case we’re talking about lye (that’s the common parlance for sodium hydroxide) and it’s used in almost every industry requiring a base, in common household goods (it’s the base for many bar soaps and restaurant detergents) and even in many foods (olives, baked goods, etc).
Also, given that organic cotton is also using this chemical, I think it would be good to quantify: 1. How much lye is being used (is it more than in cotton-softening?); 2. how “harmful” is harmful? (we’ve been using lye for literally thousands of years now, and while it can be dangerous as a high-PH base in a concentrated form, it’s pretty low on the list of environmental toxins and is considered less environmentally harmful than many of the common household cleaners we use); 3. Use the numbers from these first two points (amount x damage) to contextualize the harm done with respect to cotton processing/growing. You’ve done a nice job quantifying the other points like water, carbon, etc (which all seem to point to bamboo being better than cotton) but on this core critique you’ve only provided the name of a scary-sounding chemical without any real numbers that would help us make a rational decision in this debate.
It may be that bamboo doesn’t beat out cotton, but this post (and a few similar ones on other green blogs) seem to take this critique at face value without really diving into the details.
That said, the information about labeling (i.e. that products with only trace amounts of bamboo can be labeled as being “bamboo” is very interesting and the other numbers are quite useful… thanks for the post!

By: Riviet

Riviet — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 20:31:01 +0000

We have bamboo and hemp textiles at http://www.riviet.com Our shirts are mixed with Organic cotton to give them a softer feel. I encourage everyone to check them out.

By: Coral Rose

Coral Rose — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 04:47:18 +0000

Diane-here are some other articles that I have authored on “Rayon from Bamboo” textiles-beginning in early 2008. They are very educational.
Sustainable Action Leadership-February 2008
Have You Been Bamboozled by Bamboo?
By Coral Rose
http://coralrose.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/02/have-you-been-b.html
——————————–
Sustainable Life Media- August 2009
FTC Mulches False Bamboo Textile Claims
By Coral Rose
http://www.sustainablelifemedia.com/content/column/strategy/ftc_mulches_false_bamboo_textile_claims
——————————–
Sustainable Action Leadership September 2009
You Can Have Your Bamboo and Eat it Too–“Rayon Made From Organic Bamboo”
By Coral Rose
http://coralrose.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/09/you-can-have-your-bamboo-and-eat-it-toorayon-made-from-organic-bamboo.html

By: Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green

Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 03:44:58 +0000

I like the feel of bamboo so I hope someone comes up with a really good natural way to make it in to fibers. It could be a wonderful fabric but for now I choose organic cotton.

By: Ezmelts

Ezmelts — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 19:44:46 +0000

I have to admit I had not become aware that bamboo could be used to make textiles until I worked at a home goods store and notice bedding and bath products made from bamboo.
All in all, considering that bamboo is the better crop it’s a head scratcher for me there isn’t a bigger effort to make bamboo textiles mainstream.

By: Diane MacEachern

Diane MacEachern — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:09:17 +0000

Thanks for the links, Coral Rose.

By: Coral Rose

Coral Rose — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 02:34:29 +0000

“First Clean Coal, Now Organic Bamboo?”
http://www.sustainablelifemedia.com/content/column/strategy/first_clean_coal_now_organic_bamboo