Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/06/20/bamboo-sheets-are-beating-cott.html
…
Under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and the Textile Fiber Rule, textile fibers must be labeled and advertised as provided by the FTC. Textiles can only be called bamboo if they are made directly from actual bamboo fiber. Textiles made from rayon (or viscose, which is the same thing) that was created using bamboo as a plant source may be labeled and advertised as “rayon (or viscose) made from bamboo.” Sellers are responsible for ensuring that their textile products are labeled and advertised correctly.
15 Likes
One mistake would be understandable, however the BoingBoing/Stack Social store repeatedly violates the FTC rules when it comes to making claims about rayon sheets, calling them “Bamboo” to falsely make the fibers seem like a natural, mechanically separated fiber like cotton or linen rather than a semi-synthetic polymer creating using toxic chemicals to transform alpha cellulose into rayon. I guess so long as the underfunded FTC doesn’t sue Stack Social they will continue to break the rules because they can.
https://boingboing.net/2016/11/19/24-hour-sale-save-84-on-thes.html
https://boingboing.net/2017/02/10/the-eco-friendly-future-of-sle.html
https://boingboing.net/2019/05/10/sleep-like-a-baby-panda-in-the.html
https://boingboing.net/2020/01/19/get-deep-rest-under-these-hypo.html
Etc., etc., etc…
Here’s the wiki that explains the difference between mechanically separated bamboo fibers, which the sheets are not made of, and chemically processed rayon made from bamboo, which is indistinguishable from rayon made from other cellulose sources.
12 Likes
Would history have been different if Eli Whitney had invented the bamboo gin?
3 Likes
Or rayon from bamboo.
Of course, rayon production requires toxic chemicals, so there would still have been a use for people treated as disposable. :-/
plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose ?
While the ($20) bamboo sheets we have are very nice, I note they are listed as 20% bamboo only.
What bothers me the most is the thread title. It needs a semicolon, or should be split into two sentences.
6 Likes
What bothers me is the violence in the title! As if it’s not bad enough for the poor cotton to be beaten by the bamboo, now they want me to consider switching it as well?
3 Likes
“Help, help, I’m being mercerized! See the oppression inherent in the textile industry!”
4 Likes
To be serious for a minute, there is a lot of exploitation, and also a lot of environmental pollution… 
2 Likes
Yeah, these ones are only 40% bamboo fiber (coughrayoncough) the rest is 60% “microfiber” - which isn’t even a kind of fiber, it’s just the diameter of the fiber. So these are 40% not bamboo and 60% mystery fiber.
Also, the touted 1800 threads per inch is a lie.
Thread count is the number of vertical and horizontal threads per square inch. Not long ago, sheets typically had thread counts of 120 with 60 horizontal and 60 vertical threads. In the 1960’s, a sheet with a 180 thread count was considered a luxury. “Now you see 1,000 thread count sheets but you just can’t get that many threads on a loom,” says Pat Slaven, a textile expert at Consumer Reports.
They aren’t counting threads per inch they are counting the yarns in the threads, which isn’t a thread count - but, this being StackSocial with a half decade history of lying about bamboo sheets in explicit violation of FTC rules, they might not even be counting the yarns. They could just be making lies up from scratch.
3 Likes
my wife and I got bamboo sheets years ago, the best bedding ever!
FYI, I shared this up the chain. We’re pulling the post and asking the StackCommerce folk to be specific in the description going forward.
Thanks to everyone for the head’s up!
7 Likes
