A twist on the classic Christmas present, bamboo socks are becoming more and more popular as people start opting for more sustainable clothing options. But are they actually as eco-friendly as they claim to be, or is this just another example of greenwashing within the fashion industry?
Let's start by taking a quick look at the process of turning a stiff, sturdy plant like bamboo into a soft, silky material. This material is actually called rayon viscose, and has been widely produced since the 1920s, when companies like Eileen Fisher began to look into alternative fabric options. Made from bamboo and trees, rayon has long been (perhaps falsely) hailed as the future of ethical plant-based fashion and it can be made in two different ways.
The first method for producing rayon viscose is mechanical. The bamboo plant is crushed into a mush and then broken down by natural enzymes. The fibres are then combed out and spun into yarn which is used to make a linen-like fabric. This method does have potential to be eco-friendly, however is rarely used as it is expensive, labour-intensive, and the fabric produced is often not soft enough for the intended product. Most manufacturers turn to the chemical process instead, and this is where the problems really begin to arise.
To produce rayon viscose chemically, the plants have to be broken down using sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide before being spun into yarn using sulfuric acid. This process is so toxic that it is completely prohibited in the US. Workers exposed to these chemicals are at risk of insanity, nerve damage, heart disease and strokes. Factories will often dump the chemical waste into nearby bodies of water, poisoning both aquatic life and local communities.
Neither of these methods are brilliant options, and even if they were vaguely acceptable, there are still more problems that arise when we take a look at how the bamboo crop is actually produced. In theory, bamboo is a very sustainable crop: it's fast-growing, self-replenishing, and unlike cotton, requires very little water or labour and no pesticides whatsoever. Unfortunately, this (predictably) does not translate into a sustainable farming process.
Most bamboo is grown in China, where there are no standards or guidelines for its cultivation. This leads to unregulated forest clearing, the use of unnecessary chemical fertilisers, and the reduction of biodiversity due to bamboo being grown as a mono-crop.
These issues are by no means unique to bamboo though - most other materials also tend to have questionable farming practices and harmful production processes. The clincher, in our opinion, is the public deceit. If you choose to buy polyester, you know you're getting a petroleum product that's definitely not doing our planet any favours. It seems, however, that rayon viscose is intentionally marketed to consumers as an eco-friendly alternative, when it is usually anything but that.
So what's the solution? With so much fake advertising and greenwashing, it's difficult to not get frustrated at the apparent lack of actually legit sustainable options. We feel it too. But there are always sustainable options if you're willing to look for them! We can obviously usually bank on second-hand clothing, small ethical businesses (like our own...) and upcycled garments, but new materials are starting to emerge. One worth looking out for is Tencel. Similar to the texture of rayon, it is made from sustainably-sourced eucalyptus plants and is processed with less harmful chemicals in a closed-loop process, so that no waste is discharged into the water.
There is still hope for rayon though. 96 major fashion brands, including Levi's, H&M, Zara and Stella McCartney, have promised to clean up their supply chains, and 9 out of the 10 top rayon manufacturers have pledged not to source material from mills that contribute to deforestation. If they stay true to that pledge, 80% of rayon fabrics will made from sustainably sourced bamboo. This is definitely a step in the right direction - it might not be too long before you can buy yourself another pair of bamboo socks. This time guilt-free.
View and shop our sustainable collection here.
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