Vivi’s warning about bamboo fabric, and the fibre name a shopper needs to check
A bamboo label sounds reassuring. A plant, growing quickly, turned into something soft. In our Freedom Ecowear conversation, Vivi wanted me to look at the process behind that softness.
Why does Vivi question bamboo fabric claims in sustainable fashion?
Vivi questions the processing behind soft bamboo fabrics. The FTC distinguishes actual bamboo fibre from rayon made using bamboo.
What bothered Vivi about the way bamboo fabric is sold?
Please. For me, that’s the biggest red flag. There’s been such a hype about bamboo fibers, and people don’t get all the chemicals it takes to make buying bamboozled. That’s like so many people don’t really like either linen or hemp because they’re tough to the touch. They’re not as soft as cotton, for example. And then you think about then how since it’s so thick and how can it be so soft, all the chemical process it has to go through to make it actually work?
Vivi was talking about what shoppers are being told. Fabric softness alone cannot tell you its manufacturing process.
Can a textile be made directly from bamboo fibre?
A textile can be made directly from bamboo fibre. The FTC’s bamboo labelling guidance allows that name when the textile is made from the actual fibre. Rayon made using bamboo needs its own fibre name; it is not the same product.
What should a bamboo rayon clothing label tell you?
A bamboo rayon label should identify the finished fibre as rayon or viscose. The FTC permits wording that also identifies bamboo as its plant source.
What is the difference between bamboo and rayon made from bamboo?
Actual bamboo fibre and rayon made from bamboo have different processing routes. The FTC explains that rayon or viscose made using bamboo may be labelled as rayon or viscose made from bamboo. The plant source is useful information, but it does not replace the fibre name.
What happened when Kohl’s and Walmart sold rayon textiles as bamboo?
The FTC’s April 2022 enforcement announcement described Kohl’s and Walmart marketing rayon textile products as bamboo and making unsupported environmental claims. It sought $2.5 million and $3 million in civil penalties respectively through proposed court orders. Its complaint also challenged claims about manufacturing free of harmful chemicals.
That is a concrete example of the claim Vivi wanted shoppers to question. It does not establish the working conditions of every factory making rayon.
What does Freedom Ecowear want clothing brands to explain?
Freedom Ecowear wants brands to explain materials, percentages and production. The Freedom workshop interview follows the people and place behind that request.
Which clothing details did the Freedom interview ask brands to disclose?
The Freedom interview asked brands to disclose garment materials, fibre percentages and where clothes are made.
Like what do you have to hide. Why don’t you break down your garment. What is it made of. What’s the percentage. Why don’t you show us where the pieces are being made? The faces of the people like these are things that as consumers, we should be asking the brands we like that we’re giving our money to. I feel there’s such a lack of transparency in this industry, especially from.
How did Freedom describe being transparent as a clothing brand?
Freedom’s discussion of transparency began with being honest with yourself.
Be honest. Be 100% transparent with yourself first.
Don’t try to greenwash. Don’t do it, please. Because it will just backfire. And you won’t like that. It’s not pretty when people find out the truth. And then like, what are you gonna do. Make excuses, you know, just keep it honest. Keep it real 100% and work with what you have. At first I feel that the most sustainable thing you can do because there’s nothing more sustainable that already exist.
Read the fibre label, ask about the process and look for the evidence. I want all three. Freedom’s swimwear composition conversation matters here too, because hemp and cotton can still appear in a garment that contains elastane.
Keep exploring, my loves. Discover more clothing makers in My Ideal World.