bamboo - eco friendly???

[treadlightly]

Prompted by a recent thread in which the manufacture of Bamboo fabric was compared with Viscose, I did a little online checking and found this:

http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/09/bamboo-facts-be.html


Bamboo is advertised as an eco fabric and a natural product, but, while the plant itself grows without the intensive chemical help that cotton requires, how natural is the fabric? The production process seems very similar to that which produces viscose/rayon, which I had always regraded as synthetic. Now I feel there is virtually no difference between the two except that bamboo products are more expensive.

I have a bamboo base layer and think it performs really well but had no idea from reading the packet it came in that so many nasty chemicals were involved in its production.

The more I think about this, the more I'm convinced that wool is the only way to go. But I have no expertise and am relying on what I read. Can anyone shed any light on bamboo fabric production versus viscose?

 

[Toddy]

It's pretty much the same thing. The base resource is cellulose. That can be from trees, grass, bamboo, beans, whatever. However, it does need processing and that's where the differences begin. To pulp a tree needs a heck of a lot more work than doing beans
Trees take an awful lot longer to grow too, but technically something like bamboo, grown specifically for fibre production could be grown on poor soil that has been fertilised with humanure and no one would bother. Eventually the ground would be well tilled and suitable for farmland.
I suspect that the bamboo viscose is really the latest way of cropping an otherwise under utilised (exploited) resource in China. Certainly the major production of the fibre is coming from there. Modern technology allows the creation of some really lovely fabrics from the fibres though

cheers,
Toddy

 

[BorderReiver]

Here, what about the poor Pandas?

 

[CaptainBeaky]

Here, what about the poor Pandas?

See "Chris Packham"...

[ducks]

 

[Toddy]

We'd be much better all round just growing fibre hemp.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[BorderReiver]

We'd be much better all round just growing fibre hemp.

cheers,
Toddy

Aye and the non fibrous parts could be turned into biofuel.

 

[Kerne]

Aye and the non fibrous parts could be turned into biofuel.

And we could smoke the leaves...?

I'l get my coat.

 

[treadlightly]

I agree, bamboo is a lovely fabric, but what about all the chemicals that go into its processing?

Would it be any easier to process hemp? And what are its advantages over bamboo?

 

[Toddy]

Hemp beats the rest hands down, not only for 'green-ness' and comfort but for the numerous uses the plant is suitable for. It is said with quite some authority that if we just grew hemp we wouldn't need to fell forests.
The only issue is with those who consider if a drug.
Sheer stupidity, since fibre crop is grown tall and straight due to crowding and it has a, so low it's non existant, canabinoid content anyway.

Thankfully Europe and China are starting to listen even if America's still mostly got it's cloth ears on

cheers,
Toddy

 

[BOD]

I've got a Tilley hemp shirt.

very nice but in a humid climate its scratchy and itchy. Does all hemp fibre end up like that or is it just a style preference?

One could always use bananas though

http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/crafts/0130/f0130.html

http://www.teonline.com/knowledge-centre/banana-fiber.html

Barong tagalogs are reputedly cool

 

[Mistwalker]

Hemp beats the rest hands down, not only for 'green-ness' and comfort but for the numerous uses the plant is suitable for. It is said with quite some authority that if we just grew hemp we wouldn't need to fell forests.
The only issue is with those who consider if a drug.
Sheer stupidity, since fibre crop is grown tall and straight due to crowding and it has a, so low it's non existant, canabinoid content anyway.

Thankfully Europe and China are starting to listen even if America's still mostly got it's cloth ears on

cheers,
Toddy

I can buy hemp clothes here...just can't grow the plant they are made from. Odd considering hemp was once a major crop here...long ago.

 

[Toddy]

I've got a Tilley hemp shirt.

very nice but in a humid climate its scratchy and itchy. Does all hemp fibre end up like that or is it just a style preference?

One could always use bananas though

http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/crafts/0130/f0130.html

http://www.teonline.com/knowledge-centre/banana-fiber.html

Barong tagalogs are reputedly cool

It shouldn't be, unless they've used the really coarse fibres. I've seen and handled hand processed, spun and woven hemp cloth quite recently. The Hungarian lady who made ir says that they grade their own cloth and yarn in three grades. Mechanisation ought to be capable of even finer.
None of that lady's work was coarse enough to be scratchy, she said they just used the coasrse stuff like we would use fine canvas, for bags, jackets and the like.

America grew massive amounts of hemp fibre until just about the time of the last war. Supposedly pressure groups from the petrochemical industry combined with the anti cannabis hysteria managed to have it banned.
That's a European viewpoint on a domestic American situation, it might well be no thte full story.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Rebel]

Hemp has become quite popular these days and it is now legal to grow in the UK.

I've heard a lot about it from trendy Islington types but there doesn't seem to be any kind of mass market for it at the moment. I was wondering how it performs as outdoor wear. I'm fully aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the more popular fabrics both natural and synthetic but not of hemp.

In the past I've considered it's properties to be similar to cotton but a much coarser fabric, something like jute or hessian. However I could be wrong about this.

There are all kinds of fibres that have gone out of style since the introduction of synthetics, I wonder if they are going to start making a comeback.

I was also interested to read about bamboo fabric which is gaining in popularity. It seems that the end product is well suited to a base layer type of garment and if you shop wisely (like at Aldi) you can get bamboo clothing quite cheaply.

The chemical process is a bit frightening but if you've ever read about how they make vegetable oil you'll never cook with it again.

 

[John Fenna]

The main advantage with bamboo (IMHO) - apart from the comfort and performance - is that bamboo can grow on marginal land that is unsuitable for other crops, on any continent (except Antarctica) and looks after itself...pretty much.
Thusly it can be a cash crop for ecconomically challenged comunities without taking too much time, rescorce or investment away from their subsistance farming....

 

[treadlightly]

Hemp has become quite popular these days and it is now legal to grow in the UK.

I've heard a lot about it from trendy Islington types but there doesn't seem to be any kind of mass market for it at the moment. I was wondering how it performs as outdoor wear. I'm fully aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the more popular fabrics both natural and synthetic but not of hemp.

In the past I've considered it's properties to be similar to cotton but a much coarser fabric, something like jute or hessian. However I could be wrong about this.

There are all kinds of fibres that have gone out of style since the introduction of synthetics, I wonder if they are going to start making a comeback.

I was also interested to read about bamboo fabric which is gaining in popularity. It seems that the end product is well suited to a base layer type of garment and if you shop wisely (like at Aldi) you can get bamboo clothing quite cheaply.

The chemical process is a bit frightening but if you've ever read about how they make vegetable oil you'll never cook with it again.

I too would be interested to know how hemp performs as an outdoors fabric. Would it make a good base layer I wonder, or does it behave like cotton??