Bamboo - Complete guide to bamboo clothing
In this guide from Geggamoja, you will learn more about bamboo, what it is, how it is grown, what impact bamboo plantations have on the environment. We talk about Geggamoja's bamboo clothes and why we love this material! We will also explain the concept of bamboo viscose and why you should avoid it.
Let's take it from the beginning, bamboo is a grass (actually the fastest growing plant on earth!) that reaches its maximum height of around three meters already after three months. This means that it requires a relatively small area to produce a lot of material. It is water-bearing and therefore does not need to be irrigated to a greater extent either. It does not require spraying or fertilization, and in addition, bamboo converts more carbon dioxide into oxygen compared to most plants. So it is grown completely naturally and without chemical additives, good huh?!
Today, most of all bamboo is cultivated, making it not a threat to biodiversity in China. The pandas' favorite food in the wild is therefore safe. Overall, bamboo is known to improve the soil where it is grown, and is therefore a great environmental choice!
How is bamboo fabric produced?
The inside of the bamboo trunk is rich in fiber and is very suitable for making fabric. When producing bamboo fabric for our clothes, a mechanical process is used. This means that the bamboo trunk is crushed under high temperature and uses natural enzymes so that the bamboo fibers can be combed and then spun into yarn. The process is very similar to that of producing linen fabric from flax and hemp.
Bamboo and it´s properties
Bamboo has amazing properties! Firstly, it is incredibly soft and gentle on your baby's skin. It is a stretchy material and it has very good breathability. When you put on a garment made of bamboo, it feels cool and many people think it is a wonderful material during the warmer months of the year. However, it should not be limited to warmer days as the fibers also warm when it is cold outside! It is naturally antibacterial and because it is antistatic it also repels dirt, making it easier to remove stains.
Compared to cotton, clothes made of bamboo have a higher absorbency and it dries faster, it is therefore very suitable as layer 1 in, for example, innerwear or underwear. For those who have sensitive skin, react to wool or want a vegan alternative, bamboo suits really well.
Geggamoja's bamboo fabric is a mix of 67% bamboo, 26% organic cotton and 6% elastane. The fabrics are manufactured in factories that are Oeko-Tex Certified, and therefore our bamboo products have that label. Read more about it here. Geggamoja's designs are made by Hanna and Anna outside Stockholm, and factories in Turkey are responsible for the production of our bamboo collections. Click here to see our range of hats, pyjamas, clothes and blankets.
Bamboo is a natural material and just like wool and cashmere, there can be pimples due to friction. We do not use chemical agents to treat these, but recommend you use a wool or cashmere comb or a detangling machine that gently removes them.
Care Advice:
Wash your bamboo clothes at 30 degrees, preferably with a gentle detergent. No fabric softener. Do not use the dryer but dry the clothes, preferably flat so that they keep their shape in the best way.
Do not wash garments that do not need to be washed, a stain can be spot washed instead, so the garment lasts longer and you save energy and water, much more environmentally friendly! advice for your bamboo clothes:
What is bamboo viskose?
There is also a less environmentally friendly process (chemical) to produce bamboo fabric, the viscose method. It involves boiling bamboo leaves and bamboo shoots in strong chemical solvents and several stages of bleaching. There are several potential health risks and environmental damage here and is therefore not considered environmentally or socially justifiable. Geggamoja's bamboo clothing is NOT made from bamboo viscose.
We hope this guide taught you more about bamboo. If you have questions or want to talk more, contact us at support@geggamoja.com or +468-7582882.
