Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Some Benefits of Organic Clothing (including bamboo!)

Bamboo fabric hooded sweatshirt
Even with our knowledge of the negative impact that a modern lifestyle can have the environment, adopting sustainable activities is not always easy to do. However, a growing number of families and organizations are making efforts to become more eco-friendly. For instance, solar energy is getting to be more easy to adopt. Additionally, there are so many additional things that the rest of the people can try to benefit the environment, such as buying organic clothing.

You may be familiar with organic food, but you might not be so used to organic clothing. What is it anyways? If we talk about organic products, we mean the ones that aren't adding artificial chemicals to the soil and water. This helps support biodiversity within the environment.

Non-organic cotton is the most common clothing material, and it's also the one crop with the biggest environmental footprint. Were you aware that a quarter of pesticides are used on cotton crops?

Organic cotton, however, is produced without any chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Rather, the cotton grows through natural methods. Some other organic materials such as bamboo and hemp are also eco friendly natural fibers for organic clothing.

A big plus of organic clothing is that it is more mild on your skin. Since the clothing fibers are lacking any traces of dangerous chemicals, they won't trigger skin reactions. Additionally, clothing made from bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial.

Whenever we use organic clothing, we lower the concentration of polluting materials making their way into the ecosystem. Traditional farming causes unimaginable amounts of chemicals to get into the land and spread out to the watershed. That is a large source of health issues in these times. But when we purchase organic clothing, we are encouraging the efforts of organic farming practices that don't hurt the environment.

Some organic clothing fabrics such as bamboo and hemp are extremely durable. They will hold up to numerous wash cycles and last longer than chemically-grown fibers.

Every time we choose to wear environmentally responsible apparel, we are helping out all the people who grow organic crops. Their families and communities are spared from an exposure to a toxic build up of chemicals that can result from modern day farming practices.

Keeping in mind all these advantages, it should be no surprise that greater numbers of clothing manufacturers are shifting over to designing organic clothes.

How is Clothing Made from Bamboo?


This is a nice little video put together by one bamboo clothing company that shows the whole process of turning the woody bamboo plant into one of the softest, smoothest fabrics around. Pretty interesting!


The Reasons Why Bamboo Clothing Makes the Best Eco-friendly Yoga Wear

"Moso" bamboo used for making bamboo clothing
People today should do their best to wear organic products which are at peace with Mother  Earth. Bamboo fabric is the ideal choice for eco yoga apparel for numerous reasons.

Cloth that is made from bamboo is very soft. A lot of people even like to compare it to cashmere. The cause of this is because the bamboo fibers possess a  round surface. This makes bamboo clothing very soft to the touch, even for  consumers with allergies and sensitive skin.

Bamboo clothing is impressively moisture absorbent. This indicates that when you perspire  it will wick away the sweat from the surface of your skin. You are going to feel more dry if you put on bamboo clothing for yoga or any other physical  activities.

Bamboo material is full of miniature spaces that allow this fabric to air out. You  should feel cooler when wearing bamboo clothing in the warmer months. On the other hand in the  autumn and winter, bamboo cloth will be an outstanding insulating layer that keeps the wearer from getting cold.  Bamboo clothing is also shown to block as much as 98 percent of UV rays from the sun, so this clothing helps save your skin from damage.

The spectacular bamboo plant possesses a natural antimicrobial bio-agent called bamboo kun. The anti-microbial abilities of the bamboo plant are  still active in bamboo fabric. You will notice that bamboo garments, bath towels, and sheets restrict the growth of bacteria. Your bamboo activewear  should smell cleaner for a longer time than clothes made of other fabrics. This makes eco yoga wear from bamboo such a great choice. Lots of  people select to get bamboo lingerie and towels due to this reason.

Bamboo is without a doubt one of the most rapid growing plants you can find, but did you know also that bamboo is in fact a variety of grass, and not a species of tree? That means  all the individual bamboo sprouts are united by a system of roots beneath  the surface. Just the culms that have aged for three or four years are  harvested, while the others are left in place. In this way bamboo stalks can always be harvested in a sustainable fashion in the same location each year. Besides this, bamboo contains its own natural defense to avoid pests. So its a crop that can grow easily in an organic setting without a need for unnatural pesticides and herbicides that pollute the  environment.

Bamboo also gives much back to the earth as it grows. Each acre of bamboo  plantation converts more CO2 into fresh oxygen than an equivalent area  of hardwood forest. The complex root system of bamboo plants helps  keep moisture in the soil and avoid erosion. A bamboo stand will grow  on uneven terrain where lots of other crops are not likely to grow. The variety of bamboo harvested for fabric  only needs rainwater for its water needs. By comparison,  the cotton plant is an extremely water-intensive crop. It requires  many tons of water just to grow a single pound of cotton yarn.

So you can see, bamboo is an incredible organism holding lots of good qualities as a  clothing product. People who care about the environment are going to feel happy  about purchasing bamboo clothes. It is perfect for anyone  practicing yoga, running, or any form of physical activity. Bamboo  clothing absorbs sweat, so you will feel less sticky. At the same  time, bamboo fiber inhibits the growth of bacteria. So your exercise wear  will smell more fresh. In addition, bamboo clothing is so soft that you will not want to wear anything else.