I agree with you on all points, but would like to add some data that I found during my research for my previous employeer. I lived in China from 2003-2007 and worked with textile.

1. Yes, visiting rights are limited. I was lucky to have a long meeting with a specilist within the area of regenerated fibres which has visited several plants. The facitilites are making Rayon / Viscose from Bamboo, with old equipment. I hope things has changed since then.
2. I think the origin of wood in China is a problem, in general. The right source to find the facts from would be: http://www.fscus.org/
3. Regenerated Bamboo does not have a good life cycle assessment. Wet strenght is low, that is easy to find in a testprotocoll which many publish on their websites that are selling bamboorayon.
4. There is ONE chinese study on mechanical processed bamboo which has interesting facts, it was published in Textile Asia, 2005 or 2006. This does not apply to bamboo rayon.
5. A better fibre is Lyocell, where the producer tells the fact and the fabric is great.
6. Apply for oekotex 1000 for bamboo-rayon, that would be impressive!
7. Bamboo rayon has a low price. Mechanical bamboo can be 10 times more expensive than cotton. Lyocell a modern regenereated and please try it, it would be better for the environment short term and longterm. Read more at http://www.lenzing.com

If you like Bamboorayon you would LOVE LYOCELL

Note: I do not work for Lenzing or other companies related to this. I write this for the environment and my newly born babys future.

“bamboo sheets” and “viscose or rayon from bamboo” sheets are the same thing. It is simply a case of the bamboo textile products being designated “bamboo” this or that, for the first 5 yrs or so out in the market. Then, last year our FTC stepped in and mandated that we all market bamboo textile products as viscose/rayon from bamboo.
Thanks for your question,

Doug

Thanks for answering my stupid question and as far as Sara goes, I don’t think she liked her 3 yr position in the textile business and maybe that is why she is not in it anymore or maybe because she is so angry that is why they didn’t want her in it anymore!!

Before I get into your 7 points, first I would like to address your opening sentence in your previous post…”Keep shoveling the *&^% as long as it makes you a buck.” First off, that’s just plain rude. If you knew anything about us, you would know that we are NOT just about the buck and if we were, we certainly would not have posted your comments here.

1) I am not going to pretend to know what your business entailed in the textile industry, so I cannot comment as to why you were not allowed to visit the factory. That said, both of our suppliers visit the factory a few times a year and have seen the full operation first hand. This is 100% fact.
2) I’m not sure why you claim the source of bamboo could not be verified in your case, because in our case, the actual bamboo farms have been OCIA certfied organic. The bamboo itself has been USDA certified organic. And, the fiber has been FSC chain of custody certified from the forest to the consumer.
3) Interesting statement regarding the need to blend bamboo with cotton or it will otherwise fall apart. Being as I sleep on 100% viscose from bamboo sheets on a nightly basis, which have long stood the test of time, I beg to differ. I am not sure where you are obtaining this information in your 3 years being a “textile consultant”, but I believe if you had actually worn or slept on 100% viscose from bamboo, you would not be making such a statement.
4) You state that there have been repeated tests done on the antimicrobial effects by U.S. universities and independent labs. Why have we not seen any of these published in scientific journals? Why has the FTC not come forward with these tests as evidence to back up their theory? And why, after hundreds of hours of research dedicated strictly to acquiring test results on this subject, have we not found a single one debunking the antimicrobial properties in “viscose from bamboo”?
5) This one we agree on. To clarify, the bamboo itself is organic and the fiber comes from an organic source…an organic source that far surpasses that of any other in our humble opinion.
6) We never said otherwise. In fact, if you actually took the time to review our blog and all of our fact sections, you would see that we make all of this quite clear.
7) What is cheap to one may be worth a million dollars to another Sara…it’s all a matter of perspective and desire. Whereas I would disagree with you in regards to just how cheap it is from harvesting to final product, it’s really all a matter of what a consumer feels they are willing to pay for a product that they love. And it seems to me that consumers are loving their bamboo. Take diamonds for example…supposedly diamonds are a girls best friend…not to me. I wouldn’t pay a nickle for a diamond ring because I don’t appreciate them the way others do and therefore find them ghastly expensive and overrated. And you can bet your bottom dollar there is a huge markup in that industry, as in with numerous others.

To sum this up, we are all entitled to our own opinions, but I believe the facts speak for themselves and you are barking up the wrong tree.

There are volumes of information on this blog that substantiate the views that you disagree with. The information comes from reputable 3rd party sources, as well. But, I suspect that you have not read any of it, or anything else for that matter….other than the rehashed articles that people use to fill their websites with content.

My daddy once told me…”Don’t get into a battle of wits with an unarmed person”. I will head that warning, and ask that you come back after you have got yourself some learning

That’s before you even get to thee fact that bamboo is a weak and cheap man made fiber that is only sold at a premium because of the baseless eco friendly claims. It is one thing to have been misinformed in the beginning by the whole anecdotal bamboo is good so bamboo fiber must be good; Bamboo has antibacterial properties so bamboo fiber must be antibacterial…

Now that this is debunked it is just plain dishonest to keep arguing against it. Finally the FTC has paid attention and consumers who do not have the time to search out the truth will maybe be protected.

Despite what the FTC has claimed about bamboo, the product speaks for itself. Doug, has made some amazing points about how the fabric is made and I think the (closed loop) system should be heavily emphasized!! As Doug noted, there is factual evidence that the material does retain it’s antimicrobial properties once processed. “Keep in mind, many materials are currently impregnated with things like silver, to provide antimicrobial benefits.”
….Think about it…. the antimicrobial properties are inherent to the plant…

In reality almost every so-called green product out there has weak spot and marketing spin. The fact is that (good people) make the effort and take the initiative to educate the customer. On the Flip side you have (The Green Bandwagon), which consists of people who have the sole focus of making a profit off anything they can deem green.

Let’s not forget the complete life cycle…. Bamboo promotes up to 35% more oxygen into the atmosphere than an equivalent stand of trees. Managed bamboo plantations are even more efficient. Bamboo can be harvested on a sustainable rotation and unlike most competitors the root system of bamboo remains intact when the canes are harvested. That said, it continues to build a carbon sink, where as trees and cotton require re-planting. When the root system of a plant dies the carbon sink is slowly released back into the atmosphere. Bamboos interwoven root system, has many other attributes including erosion control and the ability to uptake various chemicals from the ground. When the end product is a useable item like clothing, you are completing the life cycle in one of the most efficient ways possible. Albeit, improvements can always be made…
“PS..what took so long for the cotton industry to consider organic cotton???”

The USDA has studies on bamboo dating back to the 1950′s. Everything you will read on the research that has been done is positive. The common problem……. availability.

I’m sure if we had thousands of acres of established Moso growing throughout the South Eastern U.S. I’m certain the large U.S. based cotton companies would have a different opinion.

Don’t believe everything you read and make your own informed decision.
Doug, great work!!
-John

To the best of my knowledge there does not exist – a manufacturer of bamboo fiber…that uses the common “rayon-like” process, and uses a natural enzyme in that
process.
The “mechanical” method certainly uses natural enzymes. However, it is highly unlikely that you are procuring “mechanical” made bamboo fiber/fabric. If you were…you would notice a huge difference in the fabric hand. Mechanical bamboo is quite “scratchy”, and much more akin to linen than to the soft bamboo fabric that we all know and love.

If there is no discernible difference between the hand of the two different products that you are purchasing, then it is safe to say that your “enzyme” claiming vendor is not being truthful with you.

The process, when employed by responsible manufacturers, is much less ecologically unfriendly than most people think.
For example – Our suppliers do use a closed loop system (it’s approx 98%), and employ water filtration methods. In addition to the ecological and human factor, it just makes good business sense to reuse the chemicals as much as possible. Also, sodium hydroxide is far from the monster that it is portrayed as. It is even used in food processing. You can learn more about it here: Is Bamboo Eco-Friendly It’s about the 7th paragraph down on the page.

We make every effort to keep abreast of the most current information on bamboo fiber and its processing methods. If there is a manufacturer using natural enzymes in place of these other chemicals…well, that would be news to me and the people that I talk to regularly, in this industry.

Thanks for your question Mark, and I hope that helps, somewhat?

Doug