Bamboo fabric has been experiencing a major boom in popularity among environmentally conscientious people lately – but not without controversy. So how does it really stack up compared with the perennial clothing favorite, cotton? You decide.
 

How Much Water Was Used To Make That T-Shirt?

Manufacturing a single cotton t-shirt requires a whopping 700 gallons of water. This sobering statistic stands in stark relief when compared with bamboo. When it comes to water usage, bamboo is the clear winner; the same sized t-shirt made out of bamboo fabric requires 1/20 of the water that cotton does – or approximately 35 gallons.

 

The Scoop About Chemicals

More and more people are turning to organic cotton in lieu of traditional cotton because it is grown without the use of pesticides. Bamboo is an amazing grass because it naturally does not require the use of pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals to be grown successfully. In other words, to purchase cotton that was grown without the use of chemicals, you need to seek out organic cotton products. With bamboo, you can rest assured that no chemicals or fertilizers were used to grow it, because it doesn’t need any.

There is a definite caveat regarding bamboo and chemicals, however: while none are needed to grow the plant itself, chemicals do come into play during the process that turns bamboo grass into bamboo fabric. Although there are mechanical ways of manufacturing bamboo fabric, they are prohibitively expensive and impractical for mass production purposes. The resulting product is called “bamboo linen,” and is very expensive to produce. Chemical manufacturing is the only reasonable way to mass produce bamboo fabric with current technology.

The precise process that is used during the chemical manufacturing of bamboo fabric is known as hydrolysis alkalization combined with multi-phase bleaching. Typically, this process involves the use of sodium hydroxide (NaOH, otherwise known as lye) and carbon disulfide. These chemicals pose definite health risks for people, and their use in the bamboo fabric manufacturing process is decidedly unhealthy for the environment.

Cotton’s so-called “water footprint” – those 700 gallons of water that are used to manufacture a single shirt – is actually much more problematic for the environment than the chemicals that are used to manufacture bamboo fabric. Also, new technologies are being developed that aim to enable the manufacture of bamboo fabric without such a heavy reliance on toxic chemicals. When compared side-by-side, bamboo fabric production still has a lower net impact on the Earth’s resources than cotton fabric production.

 

Comparing The Attributes Of Cotton Versus Bamboo

There’s no question that cotton has many very attractive natural attributes to recommend itself; after all, it’s been the most relied-upon fabric for centuries. However, bamboo takes practically every positive aspect of cotton and one-ups it. Consider this:

• Cotton’s much-hyped moisture-retaining qualities are trumped by those of bamboo fabric, which absorbs moisture three to four times more quickly;
• While cotton is a highly breathable fiber, bamboo is considerably more so;
• Bamboo is more wrinkle-resistant than cotton and can be ironed efficiently at a much lower temperature;
• Fewer dyes are needed to color bamboo fabric, and the dyes that are used produce much crisper, more vivid colors;
• Although cotton can be manufactured in a way that makes it quite durable, it still doesn’t hold a candle to bamboo fabric’s incredible durability;
• The cultivation of bamboo does not involve a heavy reliance on gas-guzzling, exhaust-spewing farm equipment;
• Bamboo fabric is so naturally soft that it is often used in place of silk – and is frequently compared favorably to cashmere, giving even the softest cotton a run for its money

 

Cotton Versus Bamboo: The Bottom Line

Despite its rather concerning chemical manufacturing process, bamboo still comes out on top over cotton on nearly every single issue. The fact that much less water is used to manufacture bamboo fabric is largely what makes it safer for the environment. It should also be noted that growing bamboo actually enriches the soil, leaving it better off than it was before – another fact that mitigates the use of chemicals to process it by a significant margin. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly fabric to rely on, you can’t do much better than bambo