Bamboo: The `Up-and-Coming' Fabric

Today apparel fabrics are expected to meet all requirements related to comfort, health-care and easy-care properties. Bamboo is a new material developed and has many characteristics that meet the current requirements of end users.  

Natural bamboo fabrics are extensively effective in antibacterial activity and UV protection. They are found to have obvious superiorities in properties of health-care and thermal-wet comfort.  

Charleston-based Bamboosa is doing its part for mama Earth with a line of 100% bamboo clothing. Incorporated in January, Bamboosa offers women's and men's apparel as well as baby products online.  

In a region where cotton used to be king, "Bamboo is a very up-and-coming fiber in the apparel industry," said Bamboosa partner Morris Saintsing.  

Saintsing said bamboo can survive droughts and floods -- unlike cotton -- and doesn't need pesticides and harmful chemicals to extract the fiber. 

The thermal-wet feature made bamboo clothing particularly suitable and comfortable to wear in summer. However, they are inadequate in piling property and must be modified. Improving this property of natural bamboo fiber is necessary and will be a research direction in future.

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