Green Cotton

Indeed, bamboo appears to be emerging as the 21st century miracle plant. With uses as diversified as wood paneling (for floors, fences, landscaping, you name it) to paper, clothing, and food (bamboo shoots, or seeds as grains), coupled with zero pesticide dependence, and minimal water or other requirements, it is no wonder that the plant is highly esteemed. In taking a closer look at the plant, two core characteristics emerge as top-rate:

1. It is naturally anti-bacterial and antifungal, lending itself to not require pesticides for effective growth; and,
2. Fast proliferation with minimal water or maintenance requirement. In fact, bamboo is known to be one of the fastest growing plants on earth, making it highly renewable. It is also biodegradable. In the regions of the world where bamboo gows indigenously, one can observe bamboo stalks literally within a 24-hour period.

From an apparel point of view, bamboo has additional advantages. Bamboo is twice as absorptive as cotton and can wick moisture and odor away from one’s body at twice the rate of conventional cotton. Depending on how it is manufactured, bamboo can be effectively used in a variety of products.

Furthermore, bamboo fibers produce some of the softest, most compelling fabrics today, not unlike cashmere or silk. In fact, ‘ecoKashmere’ coined by jonano and derived from bamboo is highly akin to cashmere or silk. Bamboo literlly is the ecocashmere.

Retailers who have discovered this miracle fiber are brilliantly incorporating it into babywear and undergarments. With is natural anti-microbial characteristics, it is a perfect match for germ-prone babies and undergarment wear, especially for women. The fact that the plant requires much less water, no pesticides and less time to grow provide the icing on the cake, for this A-list fabric.
Some companies to look out for that have saavily bamboozled the fiber into their business models:

Jonano (with ecokashmere) retailer in bamboo clothing & organic clothing, jonano is one of the more stylish companies out there, combining solid 100% organic materials with contemporary, comfortable and earthy designs. Nothing too obvious or outrageous, the jonano style is simple, elegant and down to earth. No pretention—exactly how the ecobrand wants to be. (Photosource: Jonano)

Bamboosa – another cutting edge, high quality company that sources and manufactures all product entirely in the US (South Carolina). Founded and run by retailing gurus, this company definitely has some of the nicest baby clothes I have seen and an extremely well designed website (easy to navigate).

Butta is an urban clothing line that partners with Africa to produce high quality products. While they are not 100% organic, they do offer one collection- the bamboo collection- all made from bamboo fibers. Definitely worth checking this company out!

More information on bamboo (source wikipedia):
Bamboo is a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some of its members are giants, forming by far the largest members of the grass family. New shoots of some of the larger species can grow over 1 meter per day. They are of high cultural significance in East Asia where they are used extensively in gardens, as a building material as well as a food source.

There are 91 genera and about 1,000 species of bamboo. They are found in diverse climates, from cold mountains to hot tropical regions. They occur across East Asia, from 50°N latitude in Sakhalin through to northern Australia, and west to India and the Himalaya.[1] They also occur in sub-Saharan Africa, and in the Americas from the southeast of the United States[2] south to Chile, there reaching their furthest south anywhere, at 47°S latitude. Major areas with no native bamboos include Europe, north Africa, western Asia, Canada, most of Australia, and Antarctica.

Photosource: Jonano.com