Creating a sustainable environment with Bamboo T shirt

Creating a sustainable environment has been the hot topic ever since global warming started to melt the ice in Antarctica. we are losing the Arctic Sea ice at a rate of 13% per decade. If these emissions continue to rise, Antarctica will not have any more ice by 2040. he melting of the ice had a big impact to the environment. A rise in 6 to 9 degrees of warming will melt away more than 70% of the ice mass. This will cause an eventual sea level rise of more than 40 meters. This Antarctic melting is practically irreversible.

TCarbon dioxide is one of the main causes. With the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it increases the greenhouse effect. As a result, more thermal energy traps in the atmosphere, the earth becomes warmer and lead to global warming.

The top 3 main source of carbon emission are from Transportation, Industrial and Electricity production. Agriculture on the other hand does contribute about 10% of carbon emission, it is relatively lower because the plants absorb the carbon dioxide and convert them to Oxygen.
Other than creating greener fuel, going into sustainable agriculture and replacing with more eco-friendly materials is the next best solution

Bamboo and Environment
You will start to notice more and more production are made of bamboo. Not only can bamboo be used as a substitute for wood and plastic, but it can also be made into fabrics (Bamboo T shirt) as well. There are more than 1400 different bamboo varieties in the world so there will be no shortage of bamboo to use.

Bamboo is very sustainable as it is a fast-growing plant, it can grow a staggering 1 metre per day once the plant matures. it requires very little water to grow, it can easily survive with underground water and rainfall. Bamboo plant has very high natural resistance to pest and fungi infestation so there is no need to use harmful pesticide and herbicide to grow. It grows like a weed in all kinds of environments and terrain; it can grow on marginal land, which is unsuitable for other crops. The root system of bamboo plant helps to retain water and hold soil together; unlike cotton plant, with improper practice to condition the soil, the soil can be vulnerable to erosion. Bamboo can grow very densely, which make it one of the highest yields’ plants around. Another key benefit is bamboo’s regenerating characteristic, it does not require to replant every year after harvest.

What about cotton? People had been using cotton fabric for decades, it is still one of the most widely used fabric today.

Cotton and Environment
Cotton plant does have a lot of weaknesses. Cotton Plant is a water-intensive crops, it takes on average 20,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of fabric (which can be used to make into 4-5 pieces of adult t shirts) . The cotton plant needs to re-planting each year and it takes a lot of manual labour to do that. Cotton plant can easily be destroyed by bugs and insects, that is why a lot of pesticide and herbicide are used. But the excessive use of pesticide and herbicide contaminates the groundwater and causes long-term water pollution downstream from farms. Without utilizing responsible, sustainable practices, cotton plants can erode and degrade soil quality.

Research in Japan shows that bamboo plant absorbs as much as 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare per year as compared to Cotton plants which only absorb 0.5 tonnes.
That is why Planting bamboo is one of the best ways to help our environment, it is a great way to fight global warming.

The table below is a quick summary:

	Cotton Plant	Bamboo Plant
Water consumption	Lots of water	Litter water
Pesticides and herbicide	A lot of pesticide and herbicide are required to protect from bugs and insects.	Extremely high resistance to pest and fungi infestation, very little or no pesticide is required to help it grow.
Required Terrain	Any Terrain	Relatively flat land
Harvest Yield	Up to 30 tonnes per hectare	Up to 2 tonnes per hectare
CO2 Removal	12 Tonnes per hectare	0.4 Tonnes per hectare
Replant required every year	Yes	No

Is Bamboo t shirt better than Cotton t shirt?

Yes, for many reasons:

1) Bamboo T shirt is more breathable than cotton t shirt. It has the ability to regulate your body heat. This allows you stay cool during the hot days and warm during the cooler ones.

2) Bamboo t shirt is very soft because the bamboo fibers are naturally round and smooth. Therefore, it is softer than Cotton T shirt when without any chemical treatment. Many people describe that the bamboo t shirt get even softer after every wash.

3) Bamboo T shirt is hypoallergenic because the bamboo fibers do not have sharp spurs, it does not irritate the skin. It can be worn by people even people with sensitive skin and even those who are allergic to other natural materials like hemp or wool.

4) Bamboo T shirt is more durable as compared to Cotton T shirt because bamboo fibers are longer which means it has less piling. It can withstand more washes without the fibers breaking.

5) Bamboo T shirt has an antimicrobial bio-agent, it makes the fabric naturally anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and odour resistant, even after many washes. This is something that cotton t shirt do not have.

6) Bamboo t shirt has excellent wicking properties; it is able to take up to three times it’s weight in water. The fabric can pull the moisture away from the skin so that it can evaporate faster.

With all the mention above, bamboo fabric no doubt outperforms the cotton fabric.

Bamboo T shirt demand today
When it comes to custom t shirt printing in Singapore, there are not many printing companies that carry Bamboo apparels like bamboo t shirt, polo tee and business woven shirt. But company like Orangebox, they know that consumers are getting more educated and their Environmental awareness increases, buying & using of eco-friendly products will increase.

To prepare for this growing demand in sustainable eco fabric, Orangebox is one of the few companies in Singapore to bring in Bamboo t shirt, polo tee and other apparels. Corporate companies and individual who are looking to custom print their t-shirts, they now have another choice other than cotton t-shirts. Not only they can boost their brand with t shirt marketing, but they can also do a part for the environment. Because every bamboo t shirt they wear, they are indirectly helping to reducing the greenhouse effect, protecting the planet from Global Warming.