Bamboozled: Is it Really the New Miracle Fiber of Sustainability?

     You may have noticed recently that stores across the country have been inundated with a myriad of household items that are made out of bamboo fibers. If you picked up on this trend, you may have asked... why?! It seems bamboo has been unofficially labeled the latest and greatest sustainable building material, so companies are starting to make everything from flooring to bed sheets out of the stuff. If you think about it, bamboo is a fairly easy plant to grow and it grows quickly, quicker than a tree at least. These two factors alone seem to have it glowing with an aura of eco-friendliness, but I'm not sure if people really understand what they are buying into when they purchase an item made from bamboo.
     I'll use an example to help break down the process of bamboo fiber manufacturing. Say you were to purchase a shirt made from bamboo fibers instead of one made from cotton, your decision may have stemmed from what you read on the tag. A lot of bamboo fiber clothing is advertised as "green", but it isn't technically environmentally friendly. The key word in this example would be "organic" but it's clearly missing from the equation. The word "green" becomes a red flag in this case. This is something a consumer needs to be aware of because "green" items can still involve the use of chemicals, whereas "organic" items don't. Although that shirt wasn't made from as devastating of a plant as cotton, there's still a manufacturing process involved and that isn't necessarily a pretty shade of green. The fibers that make up that shirt are chemically treated and then probably dyed with something that isn't good for the environment. If you're wondering whether or not there is a more sustainable alternative process to chemically manufacturing bamboo fibers, there is, but this process is particularly difficult and time consuming, so it isn't implemented.
     There is also the question of location. Where was the bamboo in the shirt grown? Was it locally grown or was it imported? If the bamboo was chemically treated and imported from a far away country it negates the "greenness" advertised on the shirt's tag. As far as clothing goes, it seems to me that bamboo is not the miracle fiber manufacturers claim it to be. So be careful when shopping for sustainable materials and make sure you are conscious of labels.  If you don't know much about the material a product is made from, a little research never hurt anyone, right?
     Although there are some unsustainable bamboo products out there, many of them are actually okay. The plant itself is a great resource because it matures so quickly and growing it isn't necessarily detrimental to the land as it doesn't need pesticides or heavy farming machinery. Purchasing a bamboo product that is in its most natural state is the ticket, and you can easily find a number of stores that carry them online. But looks can be deceiving so, it is always important to make sure an item wasn't chemically treated or imported.


     Stay Sustainable,

     Becca in Athens