A quick google search on bamboo will give you ample marketing hype for this recently ‘hot’ fiber choice.
About.com – knitting – states:
Bamboo knitting yarn is a relatively new entry in the knitting world, but it has become quite popular very quickly, and with good reason. Bamboo is a beautiful natural fiber that wears well and is a natural antibacterial.
Bamboo is a grass that is harvested and distilled into cellulose that is then spun into the yarn.
Positive Things About Bamboo Yarn
Bamboo is a renewable resource. Bamboo can be harvested without killing the plant, and it only takes a few months before the plant is ready to be harvested again. That makes it an environmentally friendly choice.
Bamboo yarn, when not mixed with unnatural fibers, is biodegradable.
Bamboo yarn is often dyed with more natural dyes that are safer for the environment.
Bamboo fabric is naturally antibacterial.
Bamboo also has ultra-violet protective properties.
Fabric knitted with bamboo is quite breathable and cool and has great drape.
Bamboo has a good luster, similar to mercerized cotton.
Bamboo is strong, flexible, and can be softer than silk when spun into yarn.
Potential Bamboo Negatives
Bamboo yarn loses strength when it is wet and swells considerably in water.
The yarn may not be very cohesive. Some brands split much more than others.
Bamboo needs to be hand-washed, so it isn't a great choice for things that need to be washed frequently.
So – environmentally friendly & safer for the environment? Whilst this may be true in terms of using a speedily renewable resource, the processing implications associated with bamboo are anything other than green.
From - Bamboo: Facts behind the Fiber
http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/09/bamboo-facts-be.html
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. This is basically the same process used to make rayon from wood or cotton waste byproducts. Because of the potential health risks and damage to the environment surrounding the manufacturing facilities, textile manufacturing processes for bamboo or other regenerated fibers using hydrolysis alkalization with multi-phase bleaching are not considered sustainable or environmentally supportable.
Last month the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) issued the following consumer alert –
www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt160.shtm
Have You Been Bamboozled by Bamboo Fabrics?
Looking to be a more environmentally conscious shopper? You’ve probably heard about bamboo. Bamboo stands out for its ability to grow quickly with little or no need for pesticides, and it is used in a variety of products, from flooring to furniture. But when it comes to soft bamboo textiles, like shirts or sheets, there’s a catch: they’re actually rayon.
The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, wants you to know that the soft “bamboo” fabrics on the market today are rayon. They are made using toxic chemicals in a process that releases pollutants into the air. Extracting bamboo fibers is expensive and time-consuming, and textiles made just from bamboo fiber don’t feel silky smooth.
There’s also no evidence that rayon made from bamboo retains the antimicrobial properties of the bamboo plant, as some sellers and manufacturers claim. Even when bamboo is the “plant source” used to create rayon, no traits of the original plant are left in the finished product.
Companies that claim a product is “bamboo” should have reliable evidence, like scientific tests and analyses, to show that it’s made of actual bamboo fiber.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them.
In March 2009, ecotextile.com published the following new regulations from Canada –
"news@ecotextile.com"
Bamboo textiles under spotlight
OTTAWA – [11.03.09] Bamboo textiles produced under the man-made viscose process and sold in Canada will have to mention ‘rayon’ on all labelling and product advertising under new government authority guidelines.
The Canadian Competition Bureau (CCB) says the new move follows an increase in the amount of textiles entering Canada that are being labelled as made from bamboo. The CCB now wants textile manufacturers, importers and retailers to comply with the country’s Textile Labelling Act (TLA) and the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations (TLAR) as they apply to bamboo fabric.
The TTLA and the TLAR are statutes relating to the labelling, sale, importation and advertising of consumer textile articles in Canada, which require textiles to be labelled accurately.
To help retailers, brands and importers the CCB has published a document entitled: Guidance on Labelling Textile Articles Derived from Bamboo to assist the textile supply chain deal with compliance in Canada. While many products are labelled ‘bamboo’, CCB says this is not an acceptable generic name for a textile fibre unless natural bamboo has been mechanically processed in a manner similar to the process for making flax into linen-like fabrics. Most of the ‘bamboo’ products currently in the Canadian market are said to be man-made fibre derived from bamboo pulp using a chemical process.
In future, where an item of clothing or textile is made of man-made rayon fibres derived from bamboo, the generic fibre name must first make reference to either “rayon” or the corresponding process outlined in the TLAR, followed by the words “from bamboo”. Examples of acceptable generic names include “rayon”, “viscose”, “rayon from bamboo” and “viscose from bamboo”.
The CCB says until 31st August that existing stocks of ‘bamboo’ textile articles that were in production, manufactured, labelled or packaged, in the ordinary course of business, prior to March 11, 2009 can be sold. After August 31, the Bureau will conduct marketplace surveillance to ensure full compliance with the TLA.
