Miracle Fibers: Hemp, Bamboo, Cotton

Hemp

According to the article, Hemp: Historic Fiber Remains Controversial, hemp has been a durable material that has been common in apparel and interior products since 28^th Century B.C. This textile has grown increasingly popular in the U.S. and consumers have become more aware of its versatility. Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren have incorporated this fiber in their designs which enhances the fibers popularity on a designer level as well. Along with apparel popularity, farmers have also turned to growing the popular crop instead of less popular ones like tobacco. Farmers can benefit from planting hemp because water quality can be improved because the plant doesn’t need pesticides in order to grow which also decreases harmful run off. Along with the growing popularity, there has been some controversy with the fiber as well. One of the concerns is that this fiber is also grown and harvested for the illegal drug, marijuana. Because of this controversy, it is legal to import hemp fibers and processed seeds but illegal for farmers to actually grow the plant. This poses a hardship on some farmers that are interested in growing the plant in order to make a substantially large profit by selling it to apparel and interior manufacturers. By having to import the fibers products we are spending money in other countries that are capable of growing the plant instead of stimulating our own economy. I believe that growing and farming the popular and durable fiber should be legal in the U.S. based off the several benefits this crop provides to economy and environment.

Bamboozled

“With the tremendous expansion of green claims in today’s marketplace, it is particularly important for the FTC to address deceptive environmental claims, so that consumers can trust that the products they buy have the environmentally friendly attributes they want,” ‐ David Vladeck, Director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection

This statement can be found on the back of the “Guidance from Consumer Advocates” brochure. This brochure and statement address a growing concern that manufacturers are mislabeling their products as bamboo when they are actually made from rayon. The controversy of mislabeling this product is detrimental to the consumer. The consumer believes that they are buying products made from this soft, natural product when in actuality they are purchasing a product that is manufactured and not grown. Rayon is made using toxic chemicals which is not environmentally sustainable, where as bamboo is found and grown in the natural environment. Federal Regulations holds the manufacturers responsible to correctly labeling the product as “rayon made from bamboo” so the consumer knows that the product is not actually made from hemp. Advertising is where the consumer is misled and where the controversy starts. The product is promoted as being made from bamboo but the fine print tells a different story. Consumers need to be aware of the labeling and not so concerned with the advertising and promotion of bamboo products.

Cotton

In a previous blog, I discussed the controversy of cotton and whether it is a sustainable crop. There are many arguments surrounding this fiber and whether it is as environmentally friendly as we, the consumers, like to believe. The article, Controvery Boiling; Gm Cotton Against Organic, states that there is no simple answer to this question. In order for the crop to be environmentally friendly, the farmer must grow the crop to the 100% organic standards. This standards includes using just rainfall as a water source and not having to plow the fields after every harvest. When deciding to grow the crop, the farmer has to solely rely on the environment and weather conditions. If it is not grown in an organic standard, the farmer can manipulate the field to the perfect conditions that cotton requires. This harms the environment because of the substantial water wasted and chemicals used. I would like to believe that we can shift to supporting only farmers and manufacturers that use 100% organic standards but this fiber is in such high demand that I don’t think it will every reach the point of being sustainable.

Miracle Fibers

When considering these controversial fibers in the design and merchandising aspects, I think it is very important to be highly educated on each fiber and where the products are coming from. We must find out if these fibers are 100% organic. And as buyers we should ask, are the products correctly labeled and should we support fibers grown outside the country or look for manufacturers that use fibers grown locally? As consumers, we must ask ourselves the same questions. We need to read the fine print in the labels and verify if a company produces products that are made from fibers that are 100% organic. If we take the time to understand the answers to these questions, we will take one more step to becoming a more sustainable industry.