Is Viscose bamboo (aka Rayon) natural and are they eco-friendly?? NO & NO.
If you scour the marketplace like Amazon for bamboo clothing, you'll notice that a lot of bamboo products such as socks & underwear are listed as "bamboo" when they're likely Viscose Bamboo, a synthesized fiber also known as Rayon. Though we don't believe the sellers' intentions are to deceive the consumers, we do believe that a lot of them are unaware of the toxicity of the Rayon fiber and therefore more clarification is needed so that the consumers as well as the sellers are better informed about what they're selling or buying and in turn supporting.
In short, Viscose is a process where natural fibers such as wood pulp, bamboo and/or hemp is melted into a liquid gel state using Lye (sodium hydroxide) and then treated with Carbon Disulphide. The gel is like super glue where it dries immediately when in contact with air and therefore can easily be spun into incredibly fine fibers hence making them very soft once weaved back into textile form. Legally, when the fibers are indeed Rayon, it has to be labeled as so and not as 'Bamboo.'
Though the ingenuity behind the Viscose method is quite revolutionary back in 1910 when it was first introduced in the US market, the Carbon Disulfide chemical is known to be toxic for the environment and most notably the harm it poses on the people working in that environment. Additionally, the viscose process requires high water and energy usage and therefore believed to contribute heavily towards air and water pollution. For that reason, Viscose Bamboo had been shunned by health groups worldwide when the public realize what the process entails. And because we environmentally consciousness is one of our primary values here at iLoveBad, we care to do our best to inform the public of this fraudulent industry as the manufacturers of these materials are still producing these materials without regards to welfare of both the environment and people within.
In regards to this subject, the above is merely my opinion as I've only conducted research through reading materials online as opposed to being out there conducting tests or anything of that nature on site. However, Dr. Paul Blanc, a specialist in the field of Occupational Disease, whom studies toxicology in the workplace environment has done quite an extensive amount of research and test on the matter and have discovered incredibly disturbing information about this Viscose process, in particular, the use of Carbon Disulphide and how toxic it is. At first, I wasn't too concerned about the use of Rayon until I learned more about the subject through Dr. Blanc. Definitely check him and this video out if you haven't already. Feel free to let us know what you think below!