About 100% Mechanically
Processed Bamboo
Not all bamboo fabric
is created equally There are
many textile products that claim to be
environmentally friendly, anti-bacterial bamboo,
when in fact they are actually rayon derived from
bamboo. Why all the confusion? For the
answer, we have to start with how this
eco-friendly and inherently anti-bacterial bamboo
plant is actually processed into fiber, yarn and,
ultimately, the textiles you buy.
It’s all about the process
There are two ways of commercially
processing the bamboo plant to create yarn and
fabric. A mechanical process, creating what is
informally called bamboo linen, and a chemical
process producing rayon or viscose fabric.
Mechanically processed bamboo
facts
Mechanically produced bamboo
fabric requires no chemicals, pesticides or
fungicides. Using a process similar to
the one that produces linen from flax, bamboo
fibers are raked and combed into long strands,
preserving its anti-bacterial and anti fungal
characteristics. The fibers are then drawn out and
spun into a yarn that is silky smooth to the
touch. Far more costly and time consuming
to produce, the 100% mechanically processed bamboo
linen fabric feels similar to cashmere and is
anti-bacterial and anti-microbial even after
multiple washings. Chemically
processed bamboo facts
The method
for manufacturing bamboo rayon fiber requires a
series of steps using harsh, toxic chemicals. This
toxic chemical soup breaks down plant cellulose
into a liquid slurry destroying the essential,
inherent benefits of the bamboo plant. It is then
processed to become rayon yarn containing scant
trace of the bamboo plant’s inherent
properties in the finished product. While
this method allows bamboo rayon to be produced
cheaply, bamboo rayon fabric is not soft to the
touch and does not retain anti fungal or anti
bacterial properties. This is the reason that the
FTC requires that all clothing that isn’t
made directly of bamboo fiber should be labeled
“rayon made from bamboo.”
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