We’re not alone. Apparently Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia came to the same conclusion that we did about Bamboo clothing back in November of last year. (see post) In a recent interview with treehugger.com Yvon stated; “Right now, there’s a lot of green glossing going on, green marketing. And right now a lot of companies are saying, “Oh yeah, we’re making sustainable clothing out of bamboo.” Well, we don’t use any bamboo, because it uses really toxic chemicals in that process. Bamboo itself is grown without chemicals, but the process of converting it into cloth is very toxic.”

There is a lot going on with bamboo these days - flooring, bedsheets, baby blankets, and even clothing. Here at Sattler Clothing we have received several inquiries as to why we don’t carry any bamboo apparel. Now we aren’t experts, but this is the latest and greatest data we have. First, there is no debating that a naturally-growing grass that can be harvested after 3 years is more renewable than let’s say - an oak tree, which can take 120 years to grow to maturity. Bamboo is even considered a green building material under current LEED regulations. (Article)

With the salient eco-friendly benefits of bamboo, unfortunately we run into some problems with socially-responsible harvesting. According to a post on treehugger.com, “bamboo expansion has come at the expense of natural forests, shrubs, and low-yield mixed plantations…As forestlands tend to be in hilly and mountainous areas with steep slopes clearcutting has resulted in an increase in erosion until the bamboo becomes fully established.” According to a report published by Dr. Jim Bowyer of Dovetail Partners the best way to know if the forest has been harvested in a sustainable is to check for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification. As of the date of the report, FSC has not certified any bamboo harvest. Beyond the environmental impact there are several responsible trade concerns.

Sattler Bamboo clothing? Maybe someday. Right now our research leads us to conclude with other respected experts that although we may be able to find some sustainably harvested bamboo”the manufacturing of bamboo into fabric raises environmental and healthy concerns because of the strong chemical solvents used to cook the bamboo plant into a viscose solution that is then reconstructed into cellulose fiber for weaving into yarn for fabric.” (Michael Lackman) I am excited about the prospects for bamboo as a sustainable replacement and if we find a way to identify a supply chain that can both harvest and convert to fabric sustainably then we’ll reconsider. For now, many experts suggest that very, very little bamboo clothing would qualify as sustainable or organic clothes due to the dominant manufacturing process of hydrolysis alkalization and multi-phase bleaching that use caustic soda and bleach. These chemicals are known to create a myriad of health problems and neural disorders and if the manufacturing facility lacks adequate pollution control systems - a common backburner issue for developing countries - these toxic chemicals find their way into the environment through smokestacks or waterways.

What about Oeko-Tex, Soil Association, SKAL, KRAV or some other kind of certification? Of all of them, Oeko-Tex is the most comprehensive certification, but does not certify the manufacturing processes that produced the garment as eco-friendly or sustainable. One process that may show promise is a process that mirrors the lyocell process for wood. In this process the chemicals used are supposedly non-toxic and are closed-loop so that 99.5% of the chemicals used are captured and used again with only trace amounts escaping into the atmosphere, waste water or products.

The facts about Bamboo Clothing article