Green Baby Blog

 Anonymous said...

November 4, 2008 2:46 PM

Thanks for so diligently researching into bamboo fabric. There is a lot of information questioning the green-ness of bamboo fabric, and please be aware of where this information is coming from. Many are from companies and blogs supporting the organic cotton industry who are now threatened by the emergence of bamboo fabric.

In fact this is not the first time the cotton industry has been threatened: read this excerpt from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton#Organic_cotton

So it doesn't surprise me that, just when organic cotton is becoming popular, less expensive eco-fibers fibers such as bamboo and hemp are taking away some of organic cotton's market share.

In comparison to bamboo, organic cotton is not without drawbacks:

Bamboo grows much faster than cotton - grows up to a yard a day; whereas cotton requires about 195 days to mature for each harvest. Organic cotton requires crop rotation in fields that also grow food - which, according to Wikipedia, poses problems from the run-off. It is more challenging and very costly for organic cotton to meet a growing demand as they must be replanted in a different field each cycle. Bamboo on the other hand requires no replanting and no watering - unlike any cotton, which can use up to 29,000L to produce 1kg.

Having said that, I personally have nothing against organic cotton - it truly is a wonderful eco-fabric.

My point is that in weighing the arguments for choosing one fiber over another, you will find that not one is 100% perfect.

 Anonymous said...

November 7, 2008 7:29 AM

I agree, but I think the best option would be organic bamboo so there would be no worries about exposure to harsh chemicals. I would love to see a few reviews on an organic line of bamboo clothing.