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February 26, 2010 By Nashville Wraps 2 Comments

Bamboo Bags – Are They Really Eco-Friendly?

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Reusable fabric bagsIt’s Bamboo, right… sustainable and green as a gourd. True, unless of course you soak your gourds in carbon disulfide, sodium hydroxide and bleach.

The rush to crush disposable packaging has allowed what seemed to be a green solution actually become more greenwashing. That’s also what the Federal Trade Commission thinks and they have a bit more influence than we do.

Bamboo cloth is Rayon in disguise

Bamboo is a very fast-growing, sturdy and sustainable tropical forest product. It actually grows in Tennessee and in many of the southern states but not to the degree it does in Asia. It makes great furniture and hardwood floors, but is it a good green material for clothing and reusable bags?

Bamboo can supply cellulose through a process of pulping, processing, extruding, bleaching and dying that ultimately makes a fine silk-like thread also known as Viscose in Europe and Rayon in America. It was originally developed as a substitute for silk. Many similar products are also made from plant cellulose, such as Satin Acetate for ribbons. So what started out as Bamboo is actually now “Rayon”, and not the same material anymore because of the severity of the processing required to produce it.

Rayon is a man-made fiber created from the cellulose found in plants and trees and dissolved with a harsh chemical that releases hazardous air pollution. Any plant or tree could be used as a cellulose source – including bamboo – but the fiber that is created is rayon. Federal Trade Comission August, 2009

If you sell clothing, linens, or other textile products, you’re responsible for making truthful disclosures about the fiber content. If your product isn’t made directly of bamboo fiber – but is a manufactured fiber for which bamboo was the plant source – it should be labeled and advertised using the proper generic name for the fiber, such as rayon, or “rayon made from bamboo.”

It is biodegradable?

In a recent action the FTC busted claims of biodegradable bamboo cloth products because the claims are unqualified. The Commission charged that rayon products are not biodegradable because they will not break down in a reasonably short time after customary disposal. Most clothing and textiles are disposed of either by recycling or in a landfill, where such biodegradation does not occur.

So is Rayon from Bamboo a “green” product? It may as well be made from any plant cellulose source; and in our judgment, if you apply the three-part model of sustainability which includes environmental, social and economical factors, it fails the test. It is not produced in an environmentally friendly manner, it is expensive, and on the social platform it is blatantly misleading.

Honestly, we all mean well. Even Nashville Wraps initially thought this to be a green product, but when we did the homework, we found out differently.

References:
Maker of Rayon Clothes Barred from Deceptive “Bamboo” Claims

Have You Been Bamboozled by Bamboo Fabrics?

How to Avoid Bamboozling Your Customers

FTC: Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims

Eco Power and Misleading Green Sales Tactics

Nashville Wraps

Nashville Wraps is the leader in eco-friendly gift & gourmet packaging. Our focus since 1976 has been beautiful packaging, competitive prices, fast shipping and taking care of our customers. We listen. We care about your success. Most of all, we want to make your business look good.

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Filed Under: eco-friendly packaging, Packaging, recycled plastic bags, Robby's Notes, sustainability Tagged With: bamboo, eco-friendly packaging, environmental packaging, Federal Trade Commission, green packaging, green washing, rayon, reusable bags, sustainable packaging, truth in green advertising

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. party bags says

    December 21, 2010 at 11:53 pm

    This surprised me because all this time, what I thought about Bamboo was it’s a green product. But upon knowing its qualities, it made me realized that not all plants are eco-friendly.

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    May 25, 2010 at 10:34 pm

    Thanks for your info. What a surprise.I’ve been wearing a bamboo teeshirt and telling everyone what a great feeling it is to wear it, soft, flattering, and to top it off,made from environmentally friendly bamboo. I didn’t know about the processes it has to go through. Let’s hope they can find another way to process it.

    Reply

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