Water will be 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.” 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.

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 widespread root system
• Helps mitigate water pollution due to high nitrogen consumption
• Requires little attention during 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 organized 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, it is used in many applications such as food processing, soap making, paper production, and in the manufacture of bio-diesel fuel. It is also used in wet processing of almost all organic cotton fabrics and most hemp fabrics with the exception of a small quantity coming out of Romania. It is approved by the Global Organic Textile Standards.

The 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

HLAING THA YAR, Myanmar, May 6 (Reuters) - When the full force of Cyclone Nargis passed overhead, people in this one village in southwest Myanmar could do little but sit tight and pray their lightweight bamboo shacks stood up to the ferocious winds.

For the most part, they did.

Read the whole article here about the strength and flexibility of bamboo.

In honor of Earth Day we would like to suggest that everyone just take a few baby steps to cut your carbon footprint. Want some ideas?

• Change out that incandescent light bulb for an energy efficient compact fluorescent bulb
• Once you’ve changed out that light bulb…. remember to turn it off when you aren’t using it
• Trade in that gas mower for an electric mower. Your neighbors will appreciate the reduction of noise pollution as well
• Turn down the thermostat on the hot water heater — or better yet, replace it with a high-efficiency on-demand water heater
• Combine all those errands in to one and make a circuit.
• Buy some bamboo clothing.

So, happy Earth Day to all, and to all, a good afternoon.

Sustainable ag defined by raisin spokesman
In 2007, grapevines offset the CO2 produced from 1.35 billion gallons of gas

Don Curlee
For the Capital Press

That amorphous term “sustainable agriculture” received a down-home practical spin from the president of Sun-Maid Growers when he spoke to the group’s annual meeting in Fresno in December.

Full Article Here

Several years ago who would have thought that commercial supplies companies would be touting “green” products? I was surprised to find this in my inbox (well, it actually went to junk mail, but I saved it).

Introducing ideallygreen.com…

At HD Supply Facilities Maintenance, we’re helping you go green with ideallygreen.com. Our new website is a resource for how you can achieve your own sustainability goals.

• Search “ideallygreen” for green products
• Learn more about our sustainability initiative
• Find links to key organizations and associations that support sustainability

Visit ideallygreen.com to learn more today!

Now mind you, this takes you to the HDSupply (Home Depot group) site, but talk about a tide of change. Of course, the cynic would say — as long as they can make a buck on it, they’ll be green.

This is a great article in Popular Mechanics February issue on Green Design.

Your home may be your castle, but there’s no need for exorbitant utility bills to make it as pricey as the real thing. From windows that can insulate against Antarctic temperatures to a machine that converts your garage into a biofuel pumping station, these pages showcase today’s most ingenious products for achieving energy and water efficiency. They also feature resourceful ways to cut the amount of waste produced by constructing and furnishing your home. We combed the shelves and found lamps built from recycled car parts, countertops created with waste-coal fly ash and Adirondack chairs that were once plastic jugs. We even discovered hydrophobic concrete capable of resisting water damage from your DIY moat. Now that’s our kind of engineering.

Full Article.

As you may or may not know, the Red Panda is the mascot for Shirts of Bamboo. A portion of our profits go towards helping sustain our red furry friend.

Thinking about remodelling and thinking green? Here is a nice guide to what is green in the remodelling scene for flooring.

Having checked out paint for my walls, the next mission in greening my home was to tear up the dated carpets chock-full of two decades worth of bacteria and dirt. My dog sheds enough allergens for me to worry about as it is and brown shag wasn’t my idea of a cheerful look! Once I’d exposed the sub flooring, I had to pick among the many eco-friendly flooring options available, searching for the perfect combination of attractiveness, durability and price.

Here is the full article: http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/123/flooring

Sporting his favorite Shirts of Bamboo shirt (Tahiti Blue with the SOB logo), your editor visits Hale Pa’i O Lahainaluna (the Printing House at Lahainaluna School), the oldest printing press west of the Mississippi in 1834. Lahania used to be the first capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The musuem is located on the campus of the high school, so I’ve now seen the security at our high schools these days. I’d give you a link to the site, but there isn’t one devoted to the musuem, but there is one for the Lahaina Restoration Foundation: http://www.lahainarestoration.org/halepai.html. You can also check out all the other historic buildings in Lahaina by clicking on the “Historic Sites” link on the above site.

Maholo.

So — part of this trip and the experimentation with fabrics on the river had to do with the comparison of cotton, bamboo cotton blend, 100% bamboo, and the synthetics such as UnderArmor(tm).

Bamboo definitely has a place on the river. The question is where. Several of the seasoned rafters were excited to see, feel, and wear the bamboo (some had even surfed to the http://www.shirtsofbamboo.com website and were happy to feel me up). But the question loomed — compared to the synthetics — will it dry quickly?

The short answer is no, not as quickly. If you are on Class 4-5 rapids (on the 6 scale), or Class 7-10 rapids (on the 10 scale that the Grand Canyon uses) — stick to the synthetics. However, if you are on lower class rapids, the bamboo and bamboo/cotton blends do dry quicker than straight cotton, and they have the advantage of not starting to stink after one use.

So, let’s continue on the “doesn’t stink” thread with a little story. My first introduction to Shirts of Bamboo shirts was on a trip to Hawaii years ago with Dan (owner of Shirts of Bamboo) sent me a trial shirt to the condo I was staying at in Hawaii. I wore it one day… didn’t stink (in the tropical heat), so I wore it the next and again, it didn’t stink — and day three it still wasn’t standing by itself in the corner. By day 4, the person I was travelling with just didn’t want to look at the same shirt again — not that it stunk — because he was tired of blue.

So — the moral of this post is that for smaller rapids bamboo has better drying qualities than cotton — but it’s real strength is in “camp wear” — a shirt that can last 3-4 times as long as cotton before it starts to stink to high heaven.