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Hi all!
I am expecting and due in 2 weeks. This is our first child and I decided almost immediately to cloth diaper. After much research, I decided on Mother Ease (great reputation everywhere it seems) and have just received a huge box full of the One Size bamboo (woohoo). Upon lovingly gazing and playing with my new fabulous diapers, I noticed that the tag says 85% Rayon/Viscose and 15% Polyester and it made me wonder.
Not being overly informed on how certain materials are made, I went online and looked up rayon and it's composition (how it's made, etc) and came across several sites dealing with the bamboo fabric manufacturing process. It made for very interesting reading.
Has anyone else read up on the making of bamboo fabrics? What are your views or opinions? I personally chose bamboo because it sounded so great, easily reknewable substance, more absorbant than cotton, anti-bacterial properties, etc but what I've read sort of negates many of those. Any thoughts? One article I read can be found here if anyone is interested: <A href="http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/09/bamboo-facts-be.html">http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/09/bamboo-facts-be.html</A>
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| See post that says Bamboo tags Urgent. I was not too concerned. It was the antibacterial properties I liked. |
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I didn't even notice that there was another post started on it, sorry!
I am not worried that my labels say rayon instead of bamboo (having familiarized myself with the process) but I guess what kind of made me think was how the process of turning Bamboo into fiber seems to destroy all the things I thought was wonderful about bamboo. I loved the anti-bacterial properties too but I wonder if those properties stay intact after all the chemicals are added and whatnot. I apologize if this has already been discussed. I'm fairly new to the board and although I read the posts, I am super tired and may have missed something. |
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| I seem to recall that it does. I will look and post my finding later. I am tired too. Good luck!!! |
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| Thanks for posting. The info you shared made me rethink bamboo, maybe organic cotton is more environmentally friendly. Wouldn't it be great if they did an organic wool diaper; you get the antibacterial qualities, and they are more absorbent than cotton?! |
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What I'd like to know is how this process compares to what's used for cotton or hemp. It's all very nice to say that the fabric isn't as eco-friendly as it could be, but that doesn't say anything about wether it's better/worse than competing fabrics. Perhaps the fact that it's so sustainable compensates for how it's processed? Another issue as well is the fact that as far as I know, bamboo has to be imported from overseas whereas cotton can be grown locally. But then again, is the cotton grown locally? Just because it CAN be doesn't mean it IS kwim? The biggest source of cotton, organic or not, could be from overseas... See how complicated this can all get?
Research this stuff enough and it'll have your head spinning!! We're building a new house next year and at first I was going to have as much bamboo wood in there as possible (cabinets and flooring for sure). But then I started thinking about it and looking at the actual product a bit more and now I don't think we'll use any at all. It has to be imported for starters, whereas I can get local certified hardwoods grown right here. Then there's a LOT of glues used to make the planks because the wood itself is so thin, it's practically a laminate... Are those glues eco-friendly? I doubt it... Then there's the issue of manufacturing in foreign countries. What are the worker's conditions & wages? What are the environmental standards for the manufacturing plant? By buying local hardwoods I can be much more certain of the manufacturing conditions, support small local companies as well as buy certified wood (sustainably harvested from intact forests). Anyway, I know that's irrelevant to bamboo in diapers but just thought I'd share how complex these kinds of issues can truly be.
I doubt that wool is more absorbant than cotton though. I know it's an absorbant fabric but I doubt it can rival cotton, hemp or bamboo. I doubt a wool diaper would be very pratical anyway, how would you wash it? Wool *covers* are great though!
Oh, and I'm pretty sure the anti-bacterial properties of bamboo are in the fabric. I can't see how or why they'd test the plant or raw fiber itself for something like that so they must have tested it in fabric form...
Karen.
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HI,
Actually I have done my research and taken straight from this website, "these knit terry diapers are made from 100% organic cotton grown in the USA and knit in Canada. Organic cotton is becoming increasingly popular as it's grown without the use of harmful chemicals that have an adverse affect on the environment."
From my reading wool is more absorbent than cotton. Also, You'd never go backcountry skiing in cotton long underwear because as you sweat it gets heavy, cold, and wet unlike wool which keeps you dry and warm no matter how much you sweat.
Interesting about the bamboo floors and cupboards. Bamboo does grow in North America; I had it in my yard growing up. Maybe it's time someone started growing it commercially, seems like there's a market there. Hmmm. |
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Hmm, well according to the research I've seen in the past, wool absorbs approx. 30-35% of it's weight in liquid (which is amazing for a 'waterproof' fabric). If you take the absorbencies listed on the ME site a LG bamboo Sandy's absorbs 15oz and weighing my own Lg bamboo Sandy's, they weigh only 5.5oz. That would mean that they absorb 300% of their weight in liquid, quite a bit more than wool. Granted this is bamboo, not cotton, but according to research I've seen on bamboo it's supposed to absorb 60% more than cotton, which would mean that cotton would still absorb quite a bit more than wool. Now this is all my own logic here, nothing that I've read that specifically says that cotton absorbs more than wool. If you've seen any research actually comparing the two I'd love to see it, seriously. I love researching this stuff...
I actually thought that cotton long underwear was pretty common for most 'moderate' outdoors people. I'll have to ask my in-laws what they use as they go snowshoeing and sking every year. I know they use wool socks... But the reason wool works better than cotton isn't because it absorbs more, it's because it feels reasonably dry to the touch even as it does absorb. That and the fact that it wicks moisture away from skin, which cotton doesn't.
And good to hear that the cotton ME uses is from N. America, but my comment was much more general and hypothetical. I just meant that as an example of how complex environmental issues can be and can often reserve surprises for us. Something we naturally assume is 'good' can actually have hidden costs and something we naturally assume is 'bad' (or not as good as other options) may actually be better than would seem at first glance.
Karen. |
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