How Green Are Bamboo Clothes?

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Not only are bamboo's growing methods questioned, but so is the process of turning the stalk into fiber for fabrics and clothing. According to Morris Saintsing, sales development and operations partner at clothing retailer Bamboosa, all bamboo stalk intended for clothing in the United States is converted into fiber at one factory in China. The harsh, chemical process involves sodium hydroxide and carbon disulphide, both of which are extremely corrosive and can be toxic to humans, and sodium hydroxide is known to threaten aquatic wildlife when released into groundwater and streams. Not much else about the production process is known, including what the factory does with waste runoff, as the laws in China don't require full disclosure of the production facility's methods.

Saintsing said that greener ways of creating bamboo fabrics are being tested but few have offered worthy replacements for the process currently in use. Some bamboo is processed by steaming the stalks to extract the fiber without the need for chemicals, but he says it makes a linen-like product that doesn't have the silky texture people are looking for in clothing. Another process similar to Lyocell production—which extracts fiber from wood without harsh chemicals—is under development, but it hasn't proved very successful with bamboo yet.

The bottom line? Bamboo growth has become somewhat exploited—and the lack of transparency in fiber processing makes it hard to declare bamboo fabrics wholly green—but that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy bamboo clothes. Despite the environmental shortcomings in production, bamboo is still has a much lighter environmental impact than pesticide-laden conventional cotton and petroleum-derived nylon and polyester synthetics. Manufacturing synthetic fibers can release lung-damaging pollutants such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides, particulates, carbon monoxide and heavy metals into the air, as well as climate-warming carbon dioxide. Conventional cotton requires a tremendous amount of water; in fact, according to the World Wildlife Fund, some estimates indicate that it consumes more water than any other agricultural commodity. In addition, it uses 11 percent of the world's pesticides and 25 percent of the insecticides, making it a major source of groundwater contamination and wildlife endangerment, as well as health issues. Seven of the top 15 pesticides used on U.S. cotton crops are deemed by the EPA to be potential or known human carcinogens.

Since bamboo fabrics come from the same place, it's hard to distinguish one bamboo T-shirt as being somehow greener than another. Your best bet is to look for the Oeko-Tex certification, which identifies textiles that are free of any chemicals used during processing (although it does not ensure environmental soundness of the manufacturing process). Oeko-Tex-certified bamboo clothes are sold by Bamboosa (www.bamboosa.com), Bambrotex (www.bambrotex.com) and Shirts of Bamboo (www.shirtsofbamboo.com).