Bamboo towels are very popular because of their softness and absorbency – they  are about 50% more absorbent than cotton.   For many that is reason enough to choose them in preference to cotoon.   But there is another reason – compared to cotton, bamboo is so much better for the environment.

Cotton

Cotton is a massively important world crop – particularly in the United States and Turkey.   Worldwide it accounts for 2.5% of the world’s land under cultivation.

However because of its high usage of insecticides it accounts for 24% of insecticides used and 11% of the pesticides used worldwide.    Of the 10 most commonly used insecticides in cotton production, 9 of them are considered to be acutely or highly hazardous to human health.  Bio technology is reducing the use of these insecticides – but only because spraying of the crops is no longer required because the insecticide is permanently in the crop.  There are fears of a growing immunity to these insecticide.

Nitrogen based synthetic fertilizers are becoming widespread.  However these fertilizers lead to N2O emissions which are 300 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas.

In the United States, with new thechnology, the use of petsiides is being cut dramatically

There is a mocvement towards organic farming methods, such as crop rotation and use of natrual fertilizers such as compost and manure to improve soil conditions, mechanical methods to control weeds and growing other plants earby to encourage benefitical insects.  However it accounts for only 0.1% of cotton grown worlwide.

Cotton is a renewable, biodegradable crop - in contrast to most chemical fibers used in clothing which are neither renewable or biodegradable. Progress in its ecological impact is undoubted - but it is not as environmentally friendly as bamboo.

Bamboo

Bamboo grows to over 30 metres and is the fastest woody plants.  It can grow to full height in less than 3 months, and is fully mature in less than 5 years. A member of the grass family, it reacts to being cut down in the same way as our garden lawn – it re-grows apace.  There is no need to turn re-seed.

Bamboo grows densely and as a result its yield is far greater than that of trees.   It produces about 3 times as much weight of crop than trees in any given area of land – and about 40 to 50 times more than cotton. Environmentally Bamboo is good for the planet,  absorbing 4 times as much CO2 than trees.

Unlike cotton, Bamboo is not uprooted when harvested – meaning that the soil is never left bare and subject to erosion.   The soil needs no preparation in advance of planting the next crop.

Bamboo does not  require the use of pesticides or fertilizers.

To summarise:

Environmentally cotton does not enjoy a  high reputation - but improvements are being made.

In contrast Bamboo has a number of benefits - it gows quickly without the need for persicices or fertilizers.

Regardless of the environmental issues, bamboo bath towels are popular for another reason - they are very soft and very absorbent - and if that is your preference, then that is reason enough to choose them.

If looking for cheap bath towels, you will perhaps be disappointed that a bamboo bath towel is typically more expensive than its cotton counterpart.  However those that buy them are invariably pleased with their purchase.