UMTravels

When I finished the 1st draft of my white paper for Shirts of Bamboo, I got that RUSH of WOW — like when you got a college term paper from thought to paper. No — it still doesn’t make me want to go back to college to get a master’s degree, even if I am the black sheep of my family because I’m the only one without at least one advanced degree.

So, take a look at the efforts of the last couple of weeks of research…

How Green Is Your Green Clothing?

Water Is The Answer. 

Isn’t the “green” issue really all about water? Water is the next generation’s oil problem. So, let’s examine the issues of “green clothing” based on the water argument.

This quote from the World Wildlife Foundation says it all:

Less than 1% of the world’s water is readily available for direct human uses These uses include agriculture and industry, drinking and domestic purposes, and energy generation and transport. Increasing competition for water among such uses is degrading the very natural resources on which we all depend.”

Currently there are three major fabrics used for the production of “green clothing” if you don’t count the minor fabrics containing corn husks, coconut shells, and seaweed. How green are each of these fabrics? What is the accountability (transparency) of the supply chain? What are the processing methods? And most importantly for the environment – what is the impact on the world’s water supply and environment.

The Case for Hemp

Pro

·         Grows nicely in slightly boggy conditions less suited to food crops

·         Good rotation crop

·         High yields, with multiple uses

·         Short cultivation time — yield in 3-4 months

·         With good water table, no irrigation needed

Con

·         No domestic production, though several states including Kentucky and North Dakota have passed pro-hemp laws

·         Lack of transparency for overseas production, currently all the fiber used in clothing comes from non-western countries such as China, the Philippines, and Russia, none of which are known for documenting sources or growing methods

·         Large amounts of water used in the “retting” process

·         Needs to be replanted each season

The Case for Organic Cotton

Pro

·         No chemical pesticides or fertilizers

·         Uses non-genetically modified seed

·         Can come from US sources (US, Turkey, and India are the major producers)

·         Existing infrastructure for all phases of cotton production and manufacturing

Con

·         Massive water use for growing and processing (organic or non-organic). 7,000 to 29,000 liters of water used for each kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cotton produced.

·         Needs to be planted each year and rotated out for organic pest control

·         Fertilizer intensive

·         Only .1% of the worldwide cotton crop is organic

The Case for Bamboo

Pro

·         High water efficiency (twice that of trees, comparable to sugar cane)

·         Plant it once and harvest for up to 120 years

·         Produces 35% more oxygen and consumes four times the CO2 than trees

·         Effective for erosion control due to its widespread root system

·         Helps mitigate water pollution due to its high nitrogen consumption

·         Requires little attention during its growing/production cycle

·         Sustainable AND renewable

·         Makes shirts softer than hemp or cotton alone

Con

·         No US production of fiber causing a lack of transparency in processing methods

·         No trade group to fend off attacks by the cotton industry

Conclusions

There have been on-going on-line discussions about the processing methods to get bamboo fibers – the use of heavy caustics such as sodium hydroxide. Also know as caustic soda, is used in many applications such as food processing, soap making, and paper production and in the manufacture of bio-diesel fuel. It is also used in wet processing of almost all organic cotton fabrics, most hemp fabrics with the exception of a small quantity coming out of Romania and is approved by the Global Organic Textile Standards.

To me, this discussion of processing methods is a red-herring. The real issue is how much water is used to grow the plant, how much fuel is used to plant and re-plant those fields, and how much CO2 is sucked up and oxygen spit out. If you look at those factors – bamboo is clearly the winner.

Hemp Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp

http://mojo.calyx.net/~olsen/HEMP/IHA/iha01106.html 

http://mojo.calyx.net/~olsen/HEMP/IHA/iha02111.html 

http://www.green.net.au/gf/hemp_cultivation.htm

http://www.hempusa.org/articles/cleaning-and-softening-hemp.html

Cotton Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton 

http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/policy/agriculture_environment/commodities/cotton/environmental_impacts/water_use/index.cfm

http://www.organicexchange.org/Farm/cotton_facts_intro.htm

http://www.cottonusa.org/whycotton/index.cfm?ItemNumber=808

Bamboo Resources

http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/news/Default.asp?NewsID=%7BEABD78F0-AA4C-4DC6-BB10-75BA55B019B2%7D

http://environews.cars-and-trees.com/index.php/2007/12/15/meet-bamboo-the-1-oxygen-maker-of-the-planet/ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/bamboo.html 

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