Other LanguagesI’m disappointed. Just yesterday, I was talking to a co-worker about the possibility of buying some bamboo sheets. My home décor has an Asian flair and I liked the idea of silky-smooth, environmentally friendly bedding. But thanks to this timely consumer alert from the Federal Trade Commission, I wasn’t bamboozled by bamboo.
"The soft 'bamboo' fabrics on the market today are rayon. They are made using toxic chemicals in a process that releases pollutants into the air. Extracting bamboo fibers is expensive and time-consuming, and textiles made just from bamboo fiber don’t feel silky smooth,” the alert states. “There’s also no evidence that rayon made from bamboo retains the antimicrobial properties of the bamboo plant, as some sellers and manufacturers claim. Even when bamboo is the 'plant source' used to create rayon, no traits of the original plant are left in the finished product."
The FTC charged four sellers of so-called “100% bamboo fiber” textiles with deceptive advertising.
I’m bummed. But as an informed consumer, I'll sleep better.