Naturally sustainable bamboo

Continental bamboo jersey is combined with 30% organic cotton to give stability, beautiful softness and perfect printability.

Naturally sustainable bamboo is rapidly emerging into the fashion world. Fabric woven from bamboo yarn is light, almost translucent, and softer than cotton. It has a natural quality that feels like silk, but has the advantage of being machine-washable. This natural fibre is hypoallergenic, absorbent, and fast drying. It is naturally anti-bacterial and will not hold odour. Like other natural fibres, it allows the body to breathe as the fabric absorbs the perspiration away from the body. It also is the most sustainable of the natural fibres. It is fast-growing - the type of bamboo used for making fabric, commonly known as Moso, can reach a mature height of 75 feet in just 45 to 60 days. Because of its natural antibacterial properties, it needs no pesticides. This fabric is cooling in summer, warm in winter, and environmentally friendly all year round.

Bamboo: Facts behind the Fibre

If you are thinking of purchasing bamboo clothing or any clothing, look for certification from an independent and reliable certification body such as Oeko-Tex, the Soil Association, or similar organic or sustainable certification body.

Currently, the Oeko-Tex Standard is the most comprehensive certification process to insure that a garment is environmentally friendly and sustainable.

In part because of its luxurious softness, smooth hand, flowing and gentle drape, and easy price – at least compared with silk and cashmere – and eco friendly cachet, bamboo has gained entry throughout the fashion industry. But it has been the trumpets heralding bamboo as the latest and hottest sustainable eco-fabric that have been the most strident. Growing bamboo is a wonderfully beneficial plant for the planet and most is naturally organic bamboo.

Botanically categorized as a grass and not a tree, bamboo just might be the world’s most sustainable resource. It is the fastest growing grass and can shoot up a yard or more a day. Bamboo reaches maturity quickly and is ready for harvesting in about 4 years. Bamboo does not require replanting after harvesting because its vast root network continually sprouts new shoots which almost zoom up while you watch them, pulling in sunlight and greenhouse gases and converting them to new green growth. And bamboo does this the natural way without the need for petroleum-guzzling tractors and poisonous pesticides and fertilizers.

Bamboo the plant is wonderfully sustainable. There are two ways to process bamboo to make the plant into a fabric: mechanically or chemically. The mechanical way is by crushing the woody parts of the bamboo plant and then use natural enzymes to break the bamboo walls into a mushy mass so that the natural fibers can be mechanically combed out and spun into yarn.

Chemically manufactured bamboo fiber is a regenerated cellulose fiber similar to rayon or modal. Chemically manufactured bamboo is sometimes called bamboo rayon because of the many similarities in the way it is chemically manufactured and similarities in its feel and hand.

* Bamboo fabric has a natural sheen and softness that feels and drapes like silk but is less expensive and more durable.
* Bamboo clothing is easy to launder in a clothes washer and dryer.
* Because of the smooth and round structure of its fibers, bamboo clothing is soft and non-irritating, even to sensitive skin.
* Bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal supposedly because of a bacteriostatis agent unique to bamboo plants called “bamboo kun” which also helps bamboo resist harboring odors. “Kun” is also sometimes spelled “kunh”. The bamboo kun in bamboo fabric stops odor-producing bacteria from growing and spreading in the bamboo cloth allowing bamboo clothing to be more hygienic and to remain fresher smelling.
* Bamboo clothing is hypoallergenic.
* Bamboo is highly absorbent and wicks water away from the body 3 to 4 times faster than cotton. In warm, humid and sweaty weather, bamboo clothing helps keep the wearer drier, cooler and more comfortable and doesn’t stick to the skin.
* The structure of bamboo fibers make bamboo fabrics more breathable and thermal regulating than cotton, hemp, wool or synthetic fabrics.
* Bamboo clothing is naturally more wrinkle-resistant than cotton, and while it might still require ironing after washing, bamboo fabric can be ironed at a lower temperature than cotton. Shrinkage during washing and drying is minimal at warm temperatures.
* Bamboo fibers and fabrics absorb dyes faster and more thoroughly than cotton, modal and viscose with better color clarity. Bamboo fabrics do not need to be mercerized to improve their luster and dye-ability like cotton requires.

Bamboo the plant and also bamboo the fabric can rate high as an environmentally friendly and renewable resource:

* Bamboo grows rapidly and naturally without any pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers.
* Bamboo clothing (both mechanically and chemically manufactured) is 100% biodegradable and can be completely decomposed in the soil by micro-organisms and sunlight without decomposing into any pollutants such as methane gas which is commonly produced as a by-product of decomposition in landfills and dumps.
* Growing bamboo improves soil quality and helps rebuild eroded soil. The extensive root system of bamboo holds soil together, prevents soil erosion, and retains water in the watershed.
* Bamboo grows naturally without the need for agricultural tending and large diesel exhaust-spewing tractors to plant seeds and cultivate the soil.
* Bamboo plantations are large factories for photosynthesis which reduces greenhouse gases. Bamboo plants absorb about 5 times the amount of carbon dioxide (a primary greenhouse gas) and produces about 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees.
* Bamboo fabrics and clothing can be manufactured and produced without any chemical additives although eco-certification such as Oeko-Tex is necessary to insure that the manufacturing and finishing processes are healthy.
* Currently, there are no known genetically modified organisms (GMO) variants of bamboo. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Screen printing on Bamboo

We have printed the Bamboo/organic cotton T-shirts with both discharge and plastisol. No problems.
Be aware high peak temperature. Its better to use long dryer or slow belt to keep temperature as stable as possible; 160 - 165 degrees celsius.
Many printers blame fabric manufacturers for burning garment. The reason is that they put too high temperature and fast belt. Result might be OK but inside dryer there is short high peak temperature 190-200 celsius. With bamboo you have to be careful.

Discharge is great with bamboo because the fabric is quite thin and discharge ink goes easy into the fibers.

Curing Instructions:

Cure for a minimum of 90 seconds at 320º F (160º C) to activate the discharge reaction and produce a washable print. Evaporating the water too quickly will stop the discharge reaction and result in dull colors.

Note that printing with water based inks its same as discharged: 90 seconds at 320 F (160 C). Plastisol can be faster at the same temperature, that's the difference.
Some problems are dryers: they are not stable. If you measure the temperature by lasermeter from start area or end area you can get wrong measurement. Also some problems are also dryers own meters; they measure just one area.

Best way to measure correct temperature is the temperature sticker you put on the garment, let it go thru the dryer and check what was the highest temperature: This is not allowed to be over 165-170.

About inks: Plastisol or Water-based

Plastisol

Yes it includes PVC. This is not good but of course its our job as a printer to take care all extra unused ink goes to Ekokem who handles waste correctly. They handle waste ink as waste oil. Anyway our waste ink is very, very small.
Opaque water based inks includes also chemicals. Read bottom "about Water based inks".

Union Ink. http://www.unionink.com/

About plastisol

Health, Safety, and Environmental Concerns
Plastisol inks are innocuous when used with reasonable care. A true plastisol ink contains no air-polluting solvents or volatile organic compounds. The manufacture, transportation, storage, use, and disposal of plastisol inks do not cause injury, illness, or environmental contamination as long as the appropriate safety and environmental protection procedures are followed. Most plastisol inks have a Health Rating of 1 (hazard - slight), a Flammability Rating of 1 (hazard - slight), a Reactivity Rating of 0 (hazard - minimal) and a Personal Protection Rating of B (wear safety glasses and gloves).

Water-based inks

Health, Safety, and the Environment - Water-Based Inks - The Green Factor

Many textile screenprinters use water-base inks because they, or their customers, believe that waterbased textile inks are safe in the shop and do not damage the environment. What they do not realize is that water-based inks, like all other inks, are industrial chemicals. Screen printers who buy and use water- based inks are required to obey exactly the same local, regional, and federal laws and regulations pertaining to employee training, storage, handling, and disposal as screen printers using any other kind of textile ink.

What can honestly and accurately be said about water-based inks, shop safety, and the environment?

* Water-based inks can be cleaned up with water. most screen printers use mineral spirits or something similar for cleaning up plastisol inks.
* The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Right to Know (RTK) regulations apply to water-base inks just as much as to any other kind of ink.
* You must have Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS Sheets) on all the water- based inks and ink additives in your plant.
* You must make sure your employees read and understand the MSDS Sheets.
* You must train your employees to handle, store, and clean up water-base inks safely and make sure that they do so.
* Some water-base inks contain volatile organic compounds (VOC's), chemicals that evaporate as the ink dries and, unless you have an excellent ventilation system, get mixed into the air everyone in the plant breathes.
* Until recently, some water-base inks or ink additives contained chemicals that were suspected or known to be human carcinogens; that is, they could cause cancer in people exposed to them. Review the MSDS sheets on the inks in your plant carefully to determine if this is the case with any of the inks you use.
* Do not assume that you can dispose of water-based inks, or waste water used to clean waterbased inks off screens and squeegees by dumping it down the drain. Only your local waste water treatment facility can determine if the ink you are using can be disposed of in this manner, and if they do permit it, they will certainly put limits on how much you can dump down the drain.
* If your waste water is not processed by a wastewater treatment plant (if you have a private septic system) you should consult with the nearest health department before you start dumping your waste ink and wash water down the drain.

I am unaware of any research or scientific reports that indicate that the chemicals used in water- based inks are safer to manufacture, use, or dispose of than the chemicals used in plastisol inks, assuming that in both cases the chemicals are processed in accordance with applicable health, safety and environmental protection regulations.

On the other hand, water- based inks, like all other kinds of screen printing inks may be hazardous to your health and damaging to the environment if handled illegally or carelessly.

Leo Belik