Bamboo care instructions, manufacturing Process and Certifications for Bamboo Sheets, Robes and Towels

Care Instructions:

Machine wash your bamboo fabrics separately in cold water on the regular cycle. You may use a detergent of your choice, but do not use bleach or fabric softeners.

• Bleach will destroy the luxurious quality of the bamboo fabric. 
• Fabric softener will leave a coat of chemical on the bamboo fabric 
• Tumble dry on medium heat. 

Snagging?
To prevent your bamboo fabric from snagging, the manufacturer recommends that you wash the bamboo fabric in plain cold water immediately after purchase. This wash will tighten the weave structure of the bamboo fabric and substantially diminish snagging.

However, should you snag the bamboo fabric, you can simply cut it off with scissors. Your bamboo fabric will not run.

Bamboo Manufacturing Process

Bamboo is cut, as it is has been traditionally done for centuries by local village people. Actually, bamboo is like grass, and cutting it properly (yes, it's a skill!), helps keep the bamboo forest alive.

The bamboo is then placed in a pile for pick up by factory workers, who then turn the bamboo stalks into pulp.

The pulp is broken down and separated until it becomes what is called "cellulose". Cellulose is the form of bamboo that can been spun unto thread and then woven into fabrics.

The process of breaking down bamboo into a fiber suitable for making fabric does use caustic soda, which is a chemical also used in food production, and in the production of organic cotton. Caustic soda (aka Sodium hydroxide) is approved by the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) and the UK Soil Association. Caustic soda does not remain as a residue on clothing as it easily washes away and can be neutralised to harmless and non-toxic sodium sulphate salt.

The resulting liquid is contained in a "closed-loop" solvent spinning system - meaning it is recycled at 99.5% to make more bamboo cellulose instead of being leaked into waterways. This is probably the most environmental way of making bamboo fabric, as it also saves both energy and water.

There is a way to make bamboo using machines and no chemicals, but that process is so costly and so labour intensive, there is hardly anyone using that technology today. But the good news is that technology progresses, and the bamboo manufacturing process is improving, so there is hope to keep rooting for the zero-chemical approach.

Certifications

The bamboo forest is certified by the Organic Crop Improvement Association and the bamboo crops are certified organic by the USDA seal.

The bamboo fibers used to manufacture and weave its products have obtained the FSC Chain of Custody Certification – meaning that from the bamboo forest to the fibers, all successive stages of production meet the criteria and rules requested to assure a responsible stewardship of the world’s forests.

Finally, all the bamboo fibers used have received the Oeko-tex 100 Class 1 certification - which is the certification requested for baby products, thus the most demanding certification:

A little about the Canadian company that sources these products:

Dihan (Owner, Organic Lifestyle) met Dany & Cecile [Bamboo manufacturers] in Vancouver, BC. Dany wanted to combine her passion of eco-sustainability, languages and passion for change. Her ability to speak Mandarin and living in China for over 10 years allowed her to establish significant relationships with the members of the bamboo industry to ensure that her products meet highest quality, ethical labour and organic certifications.

Why make in China?

First, the know-how of producing bamboo fabrics has been developed in China and we believe that the best quality in this category of products still comes from China.

Second, the natural resources used to make our products is located in China (up to now, no other countries produce fibers made from cellulose of bamboo). In order to keep our supply chain short and eco-efficient, we've decide to handle all the transformation process in China.