Eco Friendly Bamboo Clothing

Why you should consider wearing Eco Friendly Bamboo Clothing

Bamboo clothing refers to any kind of garment made from bamboo cellulose, derived from the bamboo plant of course and in place of traditional materials like cotton.

The use of bamboo to make fabrics originated in China and the Hebei Jigao Chemical Fiber Company in China effectively controls the world supply of bamboo fibre (by owning the patent on the method used to produce it).

Clothes and other apparel made from the material are many times more durable than comparable fabrics like cotton and polyester, but most of the popularity surrounding bamboo clothing has nothing to do with their improved quality.

Instead, the growing interest largely centers on the ecological benefits that come from preferring it to traditional materials as the negative effects of human activity on our environment become more pronounced each year.

Climate change has become increasingly difficult to ignore as we see new records of super-storms and temperature extremes across the globe (while the polar caps continue to melt and raise sea levels steadily).

Consumers that buy eco friendly bamboo clothing are often motivated by some of the following environmental benefits

Sustainability – Bamboo cultivation does not require that the land be cleared and replanted after every harvest.

Rather, harvesting a bamboo crop simply involves cutting it above the ground and allowing it to regenerate itself over the next year.

This is significant because harvesting wood pulp from a tree farm or cotton from a cotton plantation requires extensive soil tilling and preparation for replanting.

The whole process damages the soil and promotes soil erosion which can eventually render the area unusable.

Bamboo crops, on the other hand, never need replanting and will regenerate indefinitely after each harvest with no environmental damage done.

Forest Preservation – By buying bamboo textiles, consumers support an industry that does not engage in destructive practices with regards to the environment.

If bamboo fibre sees an increase in popularity among clothiers, it is also likely to replace wood as the main source of fibre used to make other materials such as paper and the great benefits in forest preservation caused by such a switch cannot be emphasized enough.

Deforestation continually reduces the number of trees that are available to produce oxygen and keep the levels of other gases like carbon dioxide in check.

Biodegradability – Bamboo fibre and clothes made from it are biodegradable. This means they can be disposed of in landfills and will break down quickly due to micro-organisms and sunlight exposure.

Bamboo clothing, being composed entirely of plant cellulose can even be processed into compost and used as fertilizer for other crops.

Speaking of fertilizer, one more environmental benefit of bamboo clothing is that the plant itself is very low maintenance.

It typically does not require harmful chemicals as pesticides or fertilizers to grow optimally and this translate into less of these chemicals finding their way into the atmosphere (causing acid rain), water supply (possibly causing harm to people), or any other places where they might wreak havoc.

Bamboo clothing sometimes comes across as an environmentalist or even ‘hippie’ thing but it’s really a pretty good way to put something of which the world has an abundant supply (albeit mostly in China) to good use while sparing forests and other scarce resources that we’d like to keep around.