The FTC recently released a “Consumer Warning” regarding Bamboo Fabric and I have seen several blogs and news articles that have covered the story. The one thing that seems to be missing in every case are the facts. The fact is that Bamboo Fabric, which is made using the Rayon process, is in fact made from Bamboo. The FTC claims that after this process there is “no trace of bamboo”. This is not a fact. The fact is that the cellulose even after being broken down during the preocess is still in the finished fabric, or else we could just make it with air!
The other fact, which has been tested by Chinese Textile researchers as well as Japan’s Textile researchers, is the properties of anti bacterial qualities in the finished fabric. The FTC listed no test results whatsoever. According to the Japanese research, after 50 washes the material impregnated with bacteria resolved 70% of the bacteria. China found it to alleviate 99.8% of bacteria imbedded in the fiber. These are independent tests and were not included in the FTC’s findings.
Treehugger.com recently reported on the FTC release with complete complacency for the information, which was responded to by Mo from Bamboosa (one of the four companies charged by the FTC).. He says, in response to the FTC’s anti-microbial claims:
On the second point, (antimicrobial properties) we sent test results to the FTC showing 100% ‘viscose from bamboo’ fabric tested positive for antimicrobial properties. Unfortunately, we also sent them, in the over 200 pages of documents, the test results for one particular fabric that did not test as antimicrobial. The FTC’s assessment of this data was that it was ‘inconclusive’. We are not sure how they went from ‘inconclusive’ to the statement issued in their press release that the product in question was NOT antimicrobial. We are having additional testing done that we hope will satisfy the FTC’s requirement for substantiation.
Another fact that seems to be missing in almost every blog and news article is the fact that only one of the four companies charged with making false claims (Bamboo Fabric and antimicrobial) agreed to the terms set by the FTC regarding the fabric. The other three companies are not. The fact is that, although bamboo fabric is Fabric made from bamboo, the FTC does not recognize it, and according to Mo,
“The FTC does not recognize any fiber called ‘bamboo fiber’. ‘Bamboo fiber’ does not exist because the FTC says is doesn’t. Even if the fiber in question was produced via a different method such as mechanically, without the use of any chemicals, it could still not be called bamboo fiber.”
The question in my mind, and for the future of sustainable causes in the US is, when do we hold the Government of the US responsible for making false and misleading statements in the wake of an industrial nightmare that our predessesors unconscious behavior, or do we just keep buying crap that is killing the planet?
