Heard the latest controversy about bamboo? The Federal Trade Commission recently sent out a consumer alert warning people not to get “bamboozled by bamboo fabrics” — and charged four bamboo-friendly companies with “deceptive labeling and advertising.”

Does that mean you’ve been duped all this time — and should never buy “bamboo T-shirts” again? Not necessarily — though the FTC wants everyone to stop calling these eco-fashion basics bamboo T-shirts — and refer to them as T-shirts made with “rayon from bamboo” instead. After all, these soft T-shirts have to go through the same, un-green chemical process that rayon made from other materials go through.

Read my feature story on Lime.com — “Bamboo or Bamboozle?” — to find out what to make of this latest eco-fashion kerfuffle:

The answer is actually much more complex than the FTC’s alert describes. While the chemical processing of bamboo may be news to some, many eco-fashionistas were already well aware about this un-green part of the fabric manufacturing process-often because the companies selling the “rayon from bamboo” products themselves spelled out bamboo’s downsides. In fact, both Pure Bamboo and Bamboosa-two of the four companies charged by the FTC-have long made the chemical processing aspect of their fabrics clear, prominently displaying the information on their websites alongside other, more eco-friendly aspects of their products and manufacturing process.

Still, according to sustainable textiles expert Coral Rose, the marketing of the products was misleading to consumers. Whether or not companies intended to deceive consumers, many people today have a too-green perception of rayon made from bamboo, Rose says, falsely believing the fabric to be much more eco-friendly than rayon made from other sources.

The FTC’s actions got quite a bit of coverage basically repeating the FTC’s charges — but not much  actual analysis as to how to interpret this news and, more practically, what to wear now. So I hope my Lime article provides some more compelling analysis to help would-be eco-fashionistas dress greener.

Still bamboo-curious? I recommend reading Lorraine Smith’s “To be or not to be…biodegradable: this is NOT the question!” post at Fashion Takes Action, which puts bamboo-related buzzwords like biodegradability and renewability into a bigger context about the actual environmental impact of our wardrobe choices:

The way to improve is not to blindly increase our loyalty to one fibre type, but rather to demand overall improvement in production standards and transparency, to keep asking for and listening to scientific data, and to measure the impacts of our own decisions.

Image via Green Organic

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