February 17 2021
What Exactly Is Sustainable Clothing?
Does bamboo surprise you? Bamboo has almost become a buzz word for sustainable brands and fanatics these days because the word itself just sounds so natural and green. Bamboo is EXTREMELY renewable (it can grow up to 36 inches in a 24 hour period!), is amazing at preventing soil erosion, and absorbs more CO2 than most plants out there. But when you think about bamboo, you most likely visually those thick, hard husks, and this is where the sustainability factors show up. To break bamboo down into a useable fiber, countless chemicals and processes are required. All of which are terrible for the environment and the workers, and emit a large amount of pollution. Bamboo is also typically grown in a mono-plantation. Meaning there is one plant growing in a farm for harvest - also doesn't sound so bad... however a lot of deforestation and ecosystem disruption happens for mono-plantations.
The above mono-plantation factor plays a role in cotton production as well.
There are of course sustainable ways to create our loved fabrics like bamboo and cotton. Organic cotton is considered sustainable along with Tencel. Tencel is the branded name for Lyocell and Viscose - both developed from bamboo. Sustainable bamboo comes from eco conscious companies that dispose of the chemicals safely, limit water use in their processes and emit less pollutants into the atmosphere. A good rule of thumb is if you can't find any information on the manufacturing process of bamboo clothing on a brands website, they likely aren't sustainable.
Shop our sustainable activewear + clothing in one collection
Here you will find all our products made from:
- Organic Fibers
- Recycled Materials
- Sustainable, semi-synthetic material such as Tencel
Read more on bamboo and sustainable clothing from The Green Hub