I tend to favor natural fabrics--those made from materials such as cotton, flax, silk, or wool--but I do buy the occasional irresistible piece made of polyester or nylon. And I absolutely adore my knits with a little bit of lycra. But the one fabric I've always been a little on the fence about is rayon, specifically bamboo rayon. I am very much in favor of organic textiles and the sustainability of resources, and while bamboo itself is a fast growing and seemingly perfect source of textile fiber, the process leaves much to be desired.
Technically, it's made with a natural substance (bamboo pulp) but it is processed in such a chemically intensive way that it almost seems synthetic. A blog post I found on OrganicClothing.blogs.com gives a pretty good account of how bamboo is processed and made into fabric, and frankly, I have to say that that is alot of chemicals.
Feel free to comment and tell me what you think.
Dressmaking projects plus tips, techniques, and tutorials. And occasional other random stuff, just to mix it up a bit.
I used to sew with all natural fibers (in my former sewing life - 20+ years ago) but I expanded my horizons into other fabrics when I took up sewing again. I figured that as long as it FEELS good, I was happy.
ReplyDeleteI love my bamboo tops, & even have a small stash of bamboo knits, but sadly, now I know too much about the processing, and I can't in good conscience buy any more.
I'll probably be grappling with many more fabric decisions along the way. I try to live a relatively green life, but I'm no ecology saint!