About Bamboo
The facts about bamboo and why it's such a great fabric for your baby.

Why is bamboo different and why does that matter? The benefits of bamboo...

    There's a growing awareness of the things we buy, eat and wear, where they come from and what they're made of. People are starting to make the connection between having these things and the impact on the environment and the amount of resources required to produce them.Consequently, the concepts of organic, eco-friendly and sustainability are becoming more important and a bigger factor in the choices we make.
    This is one of the reasons bamboo is such an amazing plant. Bamboo has a multitude of uses to us as a resource for things such as building products, textiles, food, and medicine. But bamboo also works as a highly effective air filter absorbing huge amounts of carbon dioxide while cooling and oxygenating the air.
    Bamboo is actually categorized as a grass and there are over 1500 species that grow in all different climates – even 3 species which are native to the U.S.. Bamboo is highly sustainable as it is one of the fastest growing plants (some species grow up to 4 feet a day), requires no chemical fertilizers and can be responsibly harvested in about 4 years. Bamboo grows in a 'stand', continually sending up new shoots, forming a dense network of roots that help improve soil quality and minimize erosion. Bamboo is also drought tolerant and requires minimal rainfall to sustain it, unlike conventional cotton which is chemical and water intensive to grow. Additionally, one acre of bamboo yields 10 times more than cotton.

    Bambusa is one of the common species used to create the pulp and yarns that go in to clothing and textiles. Bamboo has a unique and naturally occurring anti-microbial agent called "bamboo kun". This gives the bamboo fibers inherent antibacterial properties that help fight odors. Other fabrics have to apply chemicals to achieve this.
In addition to the antibacterial characteristics, bamboo fabrics have other unique benefits that make it really special:
•   Soft and luxuriously silky like cashmere – even softer than Pima cotton - you have to touch it!
•   Natural UV protection (blocks 98% harmful rays)
•   Thermal and breathable – this means you stay warmer when it's cold and cooler when it's hot (2-3° cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter)
•   Absorbs and wicks away moisture – bamboo cloth is highly absorbent, up to four times more than cotton
•   Anti-static
•   Strong and durable
•   Hypo-allergenic
•   100% biodegradable, decomposes naturally (does not produce methane gasses when decomposing)

How is Bamboo fiber manufactured?

    Much like the paper-making process, the bamboo pulp needs to be broken down and separated until it becomes cellulose, which can then be spun in to thread and woven in to fabric. There are essentially two methods of manufacturing bamboo into bamboo ‘rayon’ or thread; mechanical and chemical.
    The mechanical process uses natural enzymes to help break down the bamboo walls into mush so it can be combed out and spun into yarn. The resulting fabric is often called "bamboo linen". While this process is very eco-friendly it is also labor intensive and costly, so most manufacturers opt for the chemical method.
    This is why most bamboo clothing cannot be called "organic". With the chemical method, chemicals are used to break down the cellulose (in a multi-phase chemical process) which is then spun into bamboo thread, and finally, woven fabrics. This process is commonly referred to as ‘viscose’ (for more information on the viscose process, visit Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viscose ) and is very similar to the way rayon is made from wood and cotton waste products.
However, due to the growing demand for bamboo fiber and the environmental impact of the chemicals used in the processing, manufacturers are working on developing less intensive methods. One such method is the same that is used to produce lycocell from wood products (we know it as Tencel in clothing). This is a "closed loop" process that uses non-toxic chemicals where 99.5% of the chemicals are captured and recycled and re-used. This is a much more eco-friendly and healthy method.
   How do you know if this is how your clothes were manufactured? Look for certifications. Most textile manufacturers certify their fabrics, such as the Oeko-Tex 100 standard which certifies the limited the use of certain chemicals (Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oeko-tex_standard

   Currently, China is the only manufacturer of bamboo fiber, leaving no local alternatives to source from. While there are no North American producers at this time, some clothing manufacturers are purchasing the thread and yarns and doing the remaining production, sewing and assembly here in the U.S.