How green is bamboo fibre?

~ Energy footprint of: bamboo fibre ~
	Weight:	1	Kg
	Enegy to make:	1.3	kWh
	Energy use:	12	kWh per year
	Per capita consumption:	2	per year
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	Energy per capita:	14.6	kWh per year
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Bamboo fibre is fast becoming one of the the leading fibres in eco clothing today, Made by crushing bamboo stalks to extract the cellulose, then using this to make fibre for weaving into clothes. For more information see: How bamboo clothing is made

What goes into bamboo fibre

Although bamboo fibre is produced from renewable bamboo canes that grow without pesticides or fertilisers, The production method uses some chemicals to convert the crushed bamboo into raw cellulose. There are three ways that bamboo can be processed into fibre: 1. Bamboo linen:Extracting the fibre directly from raw bamboo by crushing and conbing the fibre, this is the most expensive but also the most environmentally friendly. 2. Bamboo rayon Harvested mosso Bamboo is crushed and soaked in a solution of sodium hydroxide to breakdown the bamboo into an alkali cellulose mixture. After pressing and curing carbon disulfide is added to the bamboo cellulose, which turns the mixture it to a cellulose sodium xanthogenate jell. A diluted solution of sodium hydroxide is added which creates a viscose solution consisting of about 5% sodium hydroxide and 7% to 15% bamboo fibre cellulose. The viscose bamboo cellulose is forced through spinneret nozzles into a large container of a diluted sulphuric acid solution that hardens the bamboo cellulose and reconverts it to cellulose bamboo fibre, which can be spun into bamboo fibre yarns. 3. Bamboo lyocell This method uses N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide to dissolve the bamboo cellulose into a viscose solution. Hydrogen peroxide is added as a stabilizer and the solution is forced through spinnerets into a hardening bath containing a mixture of water and methanol. The Lyocell method is considered to be a more environmentally friendly way of producing bamboo fibre.

Chemical contamination

Chemicals used in bamboo fibre production are: Caustic soda - to break down the bamboo into raw cellulose. Solvents - to convert the liquid cellulose back into a solid fibre. Both the solvents and caustic chemicals can be recycled during manufacture in a closed loop production system.

Lifetime embodied energy

Lifetime embodied enegy is about 1kg of Co2 For an average t-shirt, compaired to 4kg for a cotton T.

Recycling and material recovery

Bamboo fibre is 100% biodegradable and can safley be composted or disposed of without any risk of chemical contamination to the environment.

Factoids [1]

Bamboo is Thermo-regulating, with the fibres expanding to breathe when warm, and contracting when cool to increase warmth - natural thermal regulation.

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