From the Pesticide Action Network of North America (www.panna.org)

It can take a pound of chemicals to produce eight pairs of conventional men’s cotton briefs. Each year 275 million pounds of pesticides are used in cotton production. In addition to pesticide residues, bleached undershorts can also contain dioxin, a carcinogen and toxic hormone disruptor. Joanna Ketterer, the head of Luva Huva, a London design shop, has introduced a new line of women’s underwear made from bamboo. London’s The Sun reports these bamboo briefs are “eco-friendly” because bamboo is “quick to grow, does not need pesticides and is biodegradable.” Ketterer told The Sun: “People often have the perception that environmentally-sound clothing lacks style and comfort. With this new range, I have tried to show they can have both.” One of The Sun’s online readers recommended “a fabric made from nettle stalks [that] produce a beautiful silky fabric.” Another reader expressed concern that Luva Huva might be “taking bamboo out of a Panda’s mouth.” (Not to worry: it’s panda-friendly.) And a third reader offered a word of caution: When visiting a zoo, “don’t get too close to the pandas when wearing that ensemble.”

Click here for a link to some of Shirts of Bamboo bamboo undies.