Bamboo textile refers to any fabric, thread, or clothing made from bamboo fibers. In the past, bamboo was mainly used for structural parts, like the stiff parts of corsets. However, recent technological advances have made it possible to create viscose rayon from bamboo, which is used in many textile and fashion products.
Examples of these products include shirts, pants, socks for adults and children, and bedding such as sheets and pillow covers. Viscose rayon can also be mixed with other materials like hemp or spandex.
Most clothing labeled as "bamboo" today is actually viscose rayon. This material is made by dissolving the cellulose in bamboo and shaping it into fibers. This process changes the natural properties of bamboo, making it identical to rayon made from other plant sources. The majority of bamboo textiles sold are viscose rayon, which no longer has any characteristics of real bamboo. It is difficult to determine the original material used to make a viscose rayon sample.
Types
Bamboo fibers are made from a natural material called cellulose found in bamboo. However, they can be different in many ways.
Textiles labeled as being made from bamboo are usually not made by crushing and retting the plant. Instead, they are often synthetic rayon made from cellulose extracted from bamboo. Bamboo is also used whole or in strips, which may be considered stiff fibers.
Bamboo can be cut into thin strips and used for making baskets. In China and Japan, thin bamboo strips were woven into hats and shoes. A specific type of bamboo hat was commonly worn by farmers and fishermen to protect themselves from the sun.
In Western countries, bamboo was sometimes used with other materials, like whalebone or steel wire, to create structural parts of women’s clothing, such as corsets and bustles.
Rayon is a type of fiber made by chemically changing the structure of cellulose. Clothing described as being made from bamboo fiber is often actually made from man-made viscose fiber, which is created from bamboo. Viscose is also made from cellulose from other plants.
Bamboo leaves and the soft inner part of the bamboo trunk are soaked and crushed to extract cellulose. The viscose process then uses chemicals like lye and carbon disulfide to create a substance called sodium cellulose xanthate. After time, temperature, and other chemicals are added, the xanthate is treated with acid to form cellulose again. This process also produces waste chemicals like carbon disulfide.
Bamboo-based viscose is sometimes promoted as better for the environment than viscose made from wood pulp. Bamboo can grow on land that is not suitable for forests, but sometimes forests are cleared to plant bamboo. This happened less often after policy changes in China in the 1990s, but it occurred again later. The viscose process creates the same waste chemicals as wood-pulp viscose, including carbon disulfide. However, bamboo cellulose can be used in a closed-loop process that recycles chemicals.
Workers who make bamboo viscose are harmed by breathing in carbon disulfide. This chemical can cause serious health issues, such as mental illness, heart problems, liver damage, and blindness. Factories that make rayon often do not share information about their safety limits or how well they follow safety rules. Even in developed countries, safety laws are not strict enough to fully protect workers.
Making rayon, including bamboo rayon, exposes workers to carbon disulfide. Inhaling this chemical causes health problems. About 75% of the pollution from the bamboo viscose process is released into the air.
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that unless a fabric is made directly from bamboo fibers (called "mechanically processed bamboo"), it must be labeled as "rayon" or "rayon made from bamboo." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains that the manufacturing process changes the structure of the cellulose and alters the fiber’s properties. The final product is still cellulose, and it works the same way as rayon made from other plants.
Bamboo can grow quickly and is sometimes used as a cash crop in poor areas of developing countries. It is a natural fiber, unlike synthetic materials like polyester, and its growth reduces greenhouse gases. However, growing bamboo on land specifically for this purpose can cause environmental problems.
Bamboo fabrics are sometimes advertised as antibacterial, but finished fabrics only keep some of bamboo’s natural antibacterial properties. Studies in China (2010) and India (2012) tested bamboo-rayon fabric against bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. One study found that bamboo rayon had strong antibacterial effects, while another said it did not have antimicrobial properties. The U.S. FTC has accused companies of lying about antibacterial claims when the fiber is made from rayon. Some people believe that the cotton industry’s influence affected the FTC’s decision.
Some bamboo fiber is made using a mechanical and biological process similar to how flax is turned into linen. In this method, the woody part of bamboo is crushed, then enzymes from natural microbes on the bamboo break down the plant’s walls. The fiber is then washed and spun into yarn. This process creates a strong, silky fabric. The same method is used to make linen from flax or hemp. This type of bamboo fabric is sometimes called "bamboo linen."
In India, a traditional process is used to make a handcrafted bamboo product called "odapoovu" before a festival at the Kottiyur Temple. This product is made from young bamboo stalks and involves pounding the stalks with stones, soaking them in water, and combing out the soft fibers. The fibers are too coarse and the process is too slow to make fine yarn or fabric.
Material properties
Machine-made bamboo fiber and bamboo rayon have very different characteristics. Under a special microscope, machine-made bamboo fiber shows small bumps called nodes. Bamboo rayon has different physical traits, similar to how other types of rayon also have varying properties.
Bamboo composite and biopolymer construction
Bamboo is used in different ways to make materials and add to natural substances for building purposes. Unlike bamboo used for clothing, bamboo fibers are obtained by mechanical methods like needling and scraping or through a steam explosion process. In this process, steam is injected into bamboo, and pressure is applied. When the bamboo is exposed to the air, steam inside it creates small explosions, which help collect the fibers. Bamboo fiber can be made into a very fine material or a powder.
Ecological considerations
Bamboo has many benefits compared to cotton when used to make clothing and other textiles. Reaching up to 35 meters (115 feet) tall, bamboo is the largest member of the grass family. It is the fastest-growing woody plant in the world. One Japanese species has been recorded growing over 1 meter (3 feet 3 inches) in a single day. There are more than 1,600 species of bamboo found in many different climates, from cold mountains to hot tropical areas. About 40 million hectares (100 million acres) of Earth are covered with bamboo, mostly in Asia. Bamboo’s fast growth and ability to grow in varied climates suggest it could be a more sustainable and useful resource than some alternatives. However, there is not enough clear evidence to support this claim in general.
The bamboo species used for clothing is called moso bamboo, or simply moso. Moso bamboo is the most important bamboo in China, where it covers about 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres)—about 2% of China’s forest area. It is the main species used for bamboo timber and plays an important role in the environment.
Once a new shoot grows from the ground, the new cane reaches its full height in just 8 to 10 weeks. Each cane becomes mature in 3 to 5 years. Bamboo is a type of grass, so it regrows after being cut, like a lawn, without needing to be replanted. Regular harvesting encourages the plant to regrow faster and produce younger, healthier shoots. This process is similar to pruning. Studies show that cutting canes leads to strong regrowth and more biomass the next year.
Bamboo can be used for food, fiber, and shelter. Because it grows easily and quickly, it is a low-cost, sustainable, and efficient crop. Bamboo grows densely, and its clumping nature allows many plants to grow in a small area, reducing pressure on land use. Bamboo yields up to 60 tonnes per hectare (27 short tons per acre), which is much higher than the average 20 tonnes per hectare (9 short tons per acre) for most trees and 2 tonnes per hectare (1 short ton per acre) for cotton. This high yield per hectare is very important.
All plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂), but deforestation reduces the number of trees that can absorb CO₂. Bamboo absorbs more CO₂ and produces up to 35% more oxygen than similar tree stands. A bamboo plantation stores 62 tonnes per hectare (28 short tons per acre) of CO₂ each year, compared to 15 tonnes per hectare (7 short tons per acre) for a young forest. This CO₂ remains stored only if the final product is not burned and is allowed to decompose naturally at the end of its life. A typical forest covering the same area can store more biomass long-term and provide a more diverse habitat, but this effect is only seen over longer time periods because trees grow more slowly. Harvesting bamboo also requires less deforestation than harvesting similar amounts of other cellulose-producing crops, which reduces CO₂ emissions.
Planting bamboo can reduce deforestation by providing an alternative source of timber for construction and cellulose fiber for textiles. It allows communities to avoid destroying native forests and instead grow commercial bamboo plantations that can be harvested yearly without damaging the grove. Tree plantations must be cut down at harvest, but bamboo continues to grow.
However, forests have sometimes been cleared to make space for bamboo plantations.
Bamboo uses a lot of water, but evidence suggests its water-use efficiency (compared to its growth) may be better than many trees.
Replanting crops yearly increases soil erosion. Bamboo’s extensive root system and the fact that it is not uprooted during harvesting mean bamboo farming causes less soil erosion. Bamboo roots help hold soil together along riverbanks, deforested areas, and places prone to landslides. Like forest trees, bamboo also reduces rain runoff.
Like other cellulose-based clothing materials, bamboo fiber breaks down in soil through microorganisms and sunlight. At the end of its life, clothing made from bamboo can be composted and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.
No pesticides or fertilizers are needed to grow bamboo, but herbicides and fertilizers are sometimes used in some areas to help edible shoots grow. Bamboo also contains a substance called bamboo-kun, which is an antimicrobial agent that helps the plant resist pests and fungi. However, some disease problems exist in certain bamboo plantations.