Bamboo for the Win

Ever worn something so soft you low-key checked the tag to make sure it wasn’t magic? That’s bamboo. It’s silky smooth and perfect for sensitive skin. No itchiness, no drama — just buttery vibes all day long.

But what make's bamboo fabric the Beyoncé of the textile world? I just needed to know! Here's what I found out:

🏆 Walking the Walk

      We know it feels like heaven, and that's because bamboo fabric has a structure that is smooth, round, and contains micro-gaps that create breathability and make it moisture-wicking. This also makes it hypoallergenic and antibacterial - which means it fights odor-causing bacteria and it's kind to your skin (especially if you suffer from eczema or psoriasis). 

      All this to say: it keeps you cool, dry, and fresh — even when life gets sweaty. Precisely the reason why Bear Bear Dancewear uses it for making leotards for dance and gymnastics!

🌱 Mother Earth Don't Want No "Cotton" Scrubs

     Cotton is thirsty - it takes around 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt. Bamboo? It needs very little water to grow, making it way easier on the planet’s precious water supply.

     Cotton can need a ton of chemical pesticides to grow - not great for the soil, farmers, or surrounding ecosystems.  Bamboo, on the other hand, is naturally resistant to pests and grows like a champ without the chemical cocktail.

     Bamboo grows FAST (like, really fast) - it can grow up to 3 feet a day! It's also highly sustainable and renewable, which means it can be harvested over and over again without needing to be replanted - unlike cotton, which takes months to grow and needs replanting each season. 

🌎 Queen of Carbon Capture

     Bamboo absorbs more CO₂ and releases more oxygen than most plants. So while it’s growing super fast, it’s also helping clean the air. Eco-mic drop.

⚠️ Not all bamboo fabrics are created equal!

     Some companies might use the "eco-friendly" nature of bamboo in their marketing, even when the processing is not sustainable, a practice known as greenwashing. Some bamboo fabrics, such as Viscose/Rayon or Modal, are made with a production technique that is chemically intensive and can be water polluting. Boo.

💗 The Sweet Spot

     There are cuter ways to turn bamboo into a textile. There's a mechanical process, which uses natural enzymes and physical forces to create fibers (like bamboo linen), and there's a closed-loop system to recapture and reuse the solvents and chemicals involved in the process, minimizing waste and pollution. Thank you very much.

     Enter OEKO-TEX® from stage right! OEKO-TEX® certified means fabric producers are held to high global standards, and the fabric has been tested for over 100 harmful substances - and passed. That means no toxic dyes, no harsh chemicals, and no sketchy residues on your skin or going into the environment. High standards are kind of our thing at Bear Bear Dancewear!

So, you could say that when it came to making Bear Bear Dancewear, it was a no-brainer that we ought to use the gold-standard in fabrics - OEKO-TEX® certified bamboo! Soft on sensitive skin, kind to the earth, and cool in every sense of the word. 

Bamboo - it's no longer just a panda snack.