Bamboo greenwashing vs benefits
While bamboo has been used for centuries, it became widely used for clothing at the beginning of the 21st century. Bamboo is often thought of as a sustainable fabric. However, due to the manufacturing process this is sadly not the case in most cases. While bamboo linen is a result of natural bast fiber and is very environmentally-friendly, this only accounts for a small fraction of fashion labeled as bamboo. It’s hardly seen at all for clothing. This is because bamboo linen is time consuming and labour-intensive. Because this costs more, it makes sense that brands clearly and proudly label products when made of bamboo linen. Unfortunately, it is much more profitable to turn bamboo into fabric is by regenerating the dissolved cellulose fibers. This chemical process reconstructs natural bamboo into a material that is now manmade and considered a semi-synthetic. It should be labelled accordingly, rather than only calling it bamboo which would be misleading. Depending on how it’s made, it is called either rayon/ viscose bamboo or lyocell bamboo. Although omitting the word bamboo entirely would be sufficient.
Rayon and viscose are used interchangeably. Viscose is a type of rayon. It is the most common type of bamboo-derived fabrics (Nayak and Mishra, 2016). Rayon can be made from cellulose from plants while viscose is made by dissolving wood pulp or cotton linter in caustic soda (Difference Between, 2011). However, the process is the same. The rayon viscose method requires several steps of toxic chemicals and release harmful byproducts into the environment. Lyocell bamboo requires half the toxic chemical steps by 6:3 and uses a closed-loop system (Nayak and Mishra, 2016), so that harmful chemicals are not released into the environment. Lyocell bamboo also uses N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (Das, 2007), a less harmful solvent than sodium hydroxide (Luxome, 2020) used in the rayon viscose method. The MADE-BY environmental benchmark for fibres classifies fibers based on their environmental impact, with those best for the environment in class A and those worst for the environment is class E. Rayon and bamboo viscose are in class E -the worst category - and bamboo lyocell is in class B (Ennis, 2020). This leaves Lyocell bamboo as a much better option - but not perfect - compared to rayon/ viscose. The best option is bamboo linen that is certified organic, dew retted, and naturally coloured (CFDA, 2020). It is likely you will see bamboo linen clearly advertised, since it is a selling point costing the company. It is important to check labels carefully and (as always) be weary of mislabelling.
Another factor is the concern of depleting bamboo in forests because it is the main food source for already-endangered pandas. In panda habitats, bamboo is expected to deplete within 50 to 100 years, meanwhile it accounts for 99% of a panda’s diet (Ocko, 2015). Bamboo comes from geographic locations notorious for lacking transparency, so this is difficult to track. The FSC certification system for bamboo could use improvement, as such certifications have been found difficult to find even when advertised (Mixed Wood, 2014). As well, we could benefit from more clarity in how certifications avoid harming wildlife. Ie. Are we taking away the food source from panda habitats or was this bamboo grown and managed responsibly elsewhere?
On the bright side, there are some benefits to bamboo. Bamboo grows quickly and requires little water and no pesticides or fertilizers. Since it is easily dyed, this can reduce the energy and chemicals needed compared to a textile that does not take well to dye. It drapes well and can generally be used for anything cotton is used for. Bamboo itself is moisture wicking, anti-bacterial, and biodegradable, although benefits like these may be mostly lost through chemical processing (Ruggeri, 2017). Going forward, bamboo can be a promising fiber if we responsibly source and use bamboo linen that is more economical, and/ or further improve the bamboo Lyocell process
References
CFDA (2020). “Bamboo”. Council of Fashion Designers of America. Retrieved August 2, 2020, from https://cfda.com/resources/materials/detail/bamboo
Das, S. (2007). “Bamboo - 21st century eco fiber: Application in towel sector”. Fibre 2 Fashion. Retrieved August 2, 2020, from https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/2527/bamboo-21st-century-eco-fiber-application-in-towel-sector
Ennis, C. (2020). “Is bamboo fabric considered a sustainable textile?”. Our Good Brands. Retrieved August 2, 2020, from https://ourgoodbrands.com/greenwashing-bamboo-fabric-textile-sustainability-report/
Emelda M. (2011, April 24). "Difference Between Rayon and Viscose." DifferenceBetween.net. Retrieved August 2, 2020 from http://www.differencebetween.net/object/difference-between-rayon-and-viscose/
Mixed Wood (2014, June 16). “Where is all the FSC bamboo?”. Mixed Wood. Retrieved August 2, 2020 from https://mxwood.com/fsc-bamboo/
Nayak, L., and Mishra, S.P.(2016). “Prospect of bamboo as a renewable textile fiber, historical overview, labeling, controversies and regulation.” Fashion & Textiles (3), 2. DOI: 10.1186/s40691-015-0054-5
Ocko, I. (2015, January 27). “As bamboo forests fade, can pandas survive?”. Live Science. Retrieved August 2, 2020 from https://www.livescience.com/49596-as-bamboo-forests-fade-can-pandas-survive.html
Ruggeri, A. (2017, January 31). “Is bamboo fabric really eco-friendly?”. Swedbrand Group. Retrieved August 2, 2020 from https://www.swedbrand-group.com/blog/%E2%80%8Bis-bamboo-fabric-really-eco-friendly