Bamboo Fabric - What's All the Buzz about Bamboo Fabric?

There seems to be a lot of excitement about bamboo right now. Bamboo is popping up in all kinds of products. Bamboo flooring is in vogue and I even saw bamboo disposable plates! In my line of work though, its the bamboo sheets, bamboo towels and loungewear that I deal with daily. At my shop, The Linen Closet, we get asked about bamboo a lot. People want to know what makes bamboo fabric so special. Is bamboo really eco friendly and do they really make these baby soft pajamas out of trees?

First of all, bamboo is classified as a grass. A grass that can grow to 100 feet tall mind you. The first thing you notice is how extremely soft bamboo fabric is. To get it this way, they grind up the bamboo stalks into pulp. The pulp is blended, stretched and compressed into bales of airy bamboo fluff. The puffy stuff is then spun and woven into fine bamboo fiber. The bamboo fabric is then bleached without the use of chlorine, and can then be dyed. The fabrics produced range from soft supple jersey, like those used in lounge wear and smooth sheeting or silky terry like those used for robes and toweling.

Bamboo is environmentally friendly. It is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet and can be harvested with virtually no impact to the environment. Bamboo can be selectively harvested annually and will grow without having to be replanted. It can be grown with very little water. It can survive droughts and even flooding. It has natural antibacterial components, so no pesticides are needed in its growth. Bamboo is also a sustainable crop and is completely biodegradable. In fact, because of its rapid growth and root structure, bamboo can reclaim land seemingly destroyed by overgrazing and even clean the soil of toxins in a very short time. Another notable bonus, bamboo emits 35% more oxygen than the equivalent stand of trees.

Bamboo fabric is more absorbent than cotton. I’ve seen it advertised as much as four times more absorbent! The cross-section of bamboo fiber reveals various micro-holes, allowing bamboo fabrics to have superior moisture absorption. These holes allow it to absorb and evaporate human sweat rapidly when used in nightwear. Anyone suffering from night sweats can see the big advantage here. It’s absorbency makes it perfect for towels too!

Bamboo is antibacterial because it contains a naturally occurring anti-microbial agent called kun. The kun prevents bacteria from cultivating on it. This means bamboo fabrics can actually kill odors. Nice for sleep wear and exercise wear. Thanks to bamboo’s antibacterial properties, towels will also stay fresher between washings.

Other advantages of bamboo fabric include its breathability, its washability and durability. But, as good as all that sounds and I know from experience, bamboo’s best feature is its incredible softness. I guess we could call that its “butterbility.”

Note: Some of the claims made by bamboo manufacturers are coming under scrutiny.  Please refer below to a comment by Steve.  The Butterbility is still, at this time, undisputed.