Why We Don’t Use Bamboo in Clothing

When you're shopping online or walk into any “eco-friendly” store, you won't see a shortage of bamboo clothing. It’s often marketed as a miracle fibre — natural, sustainable, and buttery soft. But at ZONE by Lydia, we’ve chosen not to use bamboo in our clothing collection. It's true, the bamboo plant is sustainable, but bamboo fabric? Yes it's buttery soft but it does not pass the eco test for us and here’s why.

Bamboo Is Sustainable — But Not Always As Clothing

Bamboo itself is an incredible plant. It’s strong, grows quickly without fertilisers or pesticides, and regenerates after harvest. Bamboo has an important place in sustainability — in construction, flooring, and furniture where its strength and durability shine while staying close to its natural form.

But when it comes to bamboo clothing sustainability, the story changes. To make bamboo buttery-soft for activewear, the process involves heavy chemical conversion. That’s why we choose hemp and organic cotton that involves far less processing.

How Bamboo Clothing Is Made

Most “bamboo fabric” is actually rayon (or viscose) made from bamboo. The process looks like this:

1. Bamboo stalks are harvested and crushed into pulp.

2. The pulp is dissolved using harsh chemicals like:

• Sodium hydroxide (caustic soda)
• Carbon disulfide (a neurotoxin harmful to workers and surrounding communities)

3. The chemical solution is forced through spinnerets to create fibres.

4. The end result is a regenerated cellulose fibre — rayon — which is chemically the same as rayon made from wood.

5. By the end, the fibre is no longer bamboo. It’s rayon — with all the environmental downsides that come with it.

The Environmental Costs of Bamboo Viscose

• Chemical pollution: Without closed-loop systems, solvents contaminate waterways.
• Worker health risks: Carbon disulfide exposure causes neurological and reproductive harm.
• Greenwashing: “100% bamboo” labels are misleading — the fibre has been chemically transformed.
• Durability issues: Bamboo rayon often pills, loses shape, and wears out quickly.

So while bamboo sounds good on the label, the reality is far less sustainable.

What About Bamboo Lyocell?

Here’s where it gets interesting. Bamboo can be processed using the lyocell method (the same process behind TENCEL™). Lyocell uses a non-toxic solvent (NMMO) in a closed-loop system, where 99% of the solvent is recovered and reused. This makes it far safer than viscose.

Technically, bamboo lyocell is possible, and some mills produce it. But the barriers remain high.

• Infrastructure: Most bamboo suppliers are set up for cheap viscose, not lyocell.
• Cost: Lyocell is more expensive, and most “bamboo brands” are chasing low prices.
• Transparency: Certified bamboo lyocell fabrics are rare, so it’s difficult to trust at scale.

Bamboo lyocell is better than bamboo viscose, but it’s not widely available — which is why we don’t use it.

The Antibacterial Myth

Another big selling point you’ll often see? “Bamboo clothing is antibacterial.”

Raw bamboo does contain an antibacterial agent called bamboo kun. But during chemical processing into viscose or even lyocell, bamboo kun is destroyed. By the time the fibre becomes a soft fabric, it no longer retains those natural antibacterial qualities.

Unless bamboo is mechanically processed into a true bamboo linen (rare, coarse and not buttery-soft), the antibacterial claim is misleading.

Hemp is different. Hemp fibres are mechanically or enzymatically separated, not dissolved and rebuilt. That means hemp keeps much of its natural antibacterial, anti-fungal, and hypoallergenic qualities intact all the way into the final fabric which is why it feels so good on your skin and doesn't smell even after repeated wear. 

The Process of Making Hemp Fabric

Unlike bamboo rayon, which requires heavy chemical conversion, hemp fabric can be produced with minimal intervention. Here’s how:

1. Growing the plant

• Hemp grows rapidly (up to 4 metres in 100 days) with little water.
• It thrives without pesticides or fertilisers.
• Hemp naturally suppresses weeds and replenishes the soil with nutrients.

2. Harvesting & retting

• After harvest, stalks are left in the field for retting — a natural process (using moisture, bacteria, or enzymes) that breaks down the pectins holding the fibres to the woody core.
• This can be done through dew retting (sun + moisture), water retting, or enzymatic retting — all low-chemical compared to viscose.

3. Separating the fibres

• Once retted, stalks are dried and processed to separate the long bast fibres (outer layer) from the woody hurd (inner core).
• The hurd can be used in construction, paper, or mulch — nothing goes to waste.

4. Spinning into yarn

• Hemp fibres are carded, combed, and spun into yarn.To make the fabric softer and more versatile, hemp is often blended with organic cotton.

5. Weaving & finishing

• Hemp yarns are woven or knitted into fabric.
• Because we use organic cotton, the blend is gentler on skin, maintains breathability, and reduces reliance on synthetic stretch fibres.

Why We Choose Hemp & Organic Cotton Instead

At ZONE by Lydia, we believe in fabrics that are naturally sustainable and durable without chemical manipulation. That’s why we use:

• Hemp → one of the most sustainable plants on earth. Strong, breathable, antibacterial, and it gets softer with every wear. Hemp is also a carbon-negative crop — by increasing demand for hemp, we’re helping capture CO₂, regenerate soils, and do our part for the planet.

• Organic cotton → grown without harmful pesticides, certified for sustainability, and gentle on skin. We only use GOTS certifies organic cotton.

• Cork & natural rubber → renewable, biodegradable, and harvested without harming trees. These two materials are our choice for eco friendly yoga mats.

These fibres are the foundation of our non toxic activewear and yoga gear. And for those searching for hemp clothing Australia, our collections are designed to provide a genuine, planet-friendly alternative to fast-fashion synthetics.

The Bigger Picture

Bamboo absolutely has a place in sustainability — in construction, flooring, furniture, and household items where it stays in natural form. But in clothing, the environmental costs of turning bamboo into rayon are too high — and its natural antibacterial qualities are lost in the process.

That’s why you won’t see bamboo fabrics at ZONE by Lydia. Instead, you’ll find hemp and organic cotton blends and non toxic activewear that delivers on performance and sustainability without compromise.

Next time you see bamboo on a clothing tag, ask yourself — is this really sustainable? At ZONE, we’ll keep giving you an honest alternative: high-quality organic cotton and hemp clothing in Australia, designed for movement and a healthier you and healthier planet

 

 

Check out our hemp clothing today and feel the difference.