A Little Wiser and Less Likely to Be Fooled

I was leafing through my recent copy of Good Housekeeping, when an article contributed by its editors caught my attention. My eye was first attracted to a graphic of a clothing tag. After reading the article, I realized that the words on the tag, “100% Bamboozled”, had provided a clever, concise, and creative summary of the article’s content. The article not only disclosed the truth about Bamboo plant content, but furthermore it was coupled with a product alert. The text pointed out, how we, as consumers, can be unknowingly hood winked or deceived by labels or claims. What I learned from the article, “The Truth About Bamboo Sheets and Plant Based Fabrics”, and further googling was the following information. Like many other consumers, I am trying to be a more conscious buyer. I am on the look out for products that are more environmentally friendly, such as those made from natural fibres such as bamboo. This article got me wondering about the wisdom of my recent purchase of bamboo socks. After reading the article, I know it would be more correct now to say my rayon socks. As you may or may not know rayon is the umbrella term for fibers made from plant cellulose. There are various types of rayon that include viscose, lyocell and modal. The specific type of rayon is indicative of the manufacturing process used to extract it. According to BBC Bitesize, cellulose is the main substance found in plant cell walls that helps them maintain their stiff, strong structure. Cellulose is used in the making of clothes and paper. Upon further checking, cellulose is what is in my socks. Through my black socks began with pieces of bamboo, in the end they contained no bamboo fibers whatsoever. According to Lexie Sachs, the GH Institutes Textiles Director, through a multi-step process “… the raw plant materials are chemically dissolved to the point they no longer exist in the final fabric.” Chemicals are at the core of what amounts to processes within the yarn producing process. In summary, the harvested bamboo is chopped into pieces, the pieces are chemically processed into pulp, leaving out most of original plant. The pulp is liquefied by a further chemical treatment which removes any remnants of bamboo. Next, the resultant liquid goes through small holes in a device called a spinneret, where in a chemical bath, it finally becomes man made fibers. The resultant fibers are cleaned and made into yarn ready to be used in the manufacturing of clothing. I am left asking myself, “How environmentally more friendly can a product produced from a triple chemical process be?” What seemed like a good idea in the beginning is not as it first appeared to be. I think I was hood winked. The acceptable use of bamboo in advertising and labelling as established by the Competition Bureau of Canada is only if the textile fibre has been mechanically processed from natural bamboo fibre. https:// www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/. It is incorrect to use the term bamboo, If the product is not made directly from bamboo fibres. Bamboo plants are a legitimate source of rayon but should be correctly labelled as such, “Rayon from bamboo.” (Hyperlink to https://youtu.be/ F9zmk31ztBE) Checking again on the Amazon website, my socks are made of rayon derived from bamboo plants. Reading the details revealed that they were bamboo viscose dress socks. As the magazine editors alluded, many products should more correctly be labelled derived from bamboo rather than misrepresented as made from bamboo plants. This misuse of the term bamboo is beyond semantics and the law. The improper use of the plant name instead of the correct name is a trap for the green conscious shopper. The English language has coined the term, Greenwashing, for this endeavour to convey a false impression or providing misleading information about how products are more environmentally sound than other similar products. My parting advice is do not be tricked into buying.