An excerpt from field notes on an investigation into a potential bamboo clothing operation
by Sam Kulla

En route to an organic Bamboo plantation in Fujian province.

I’ve got a lot of info thanks to black sesame butter and honey spoonfuls and Redbull. For starters, while I think our art project is still of great value, I am coming more and more across information which leads me to believe our business idea is not legitimately green. That doesn’t mean it’s not a legit business at all, but you have to be careful with honesty in marketing or you run the risk of either being fake or being busted and alienating consumers. Transparency in the process is key.

Aside from what still remains to be learned on our this trip, I can draw the following conclusions from what we know already. Bamboo is a strong plant that requires little fertilization and gives a lot back in terms of carbon conversions. Processing bamboo into viscose via current mainstream methods is simply not green. Caustic soda and sulfuric acid are harmful chemicals with severe environmental consequences. I have located a Swiss producer and dealer of fiber that uses an enzyme/microorganism process to offset the use of these noxious ingredients, the bacteria actually eat the sulfuric acid and produce relatively clean water as a byproduct, though some air pollution is inevitable because of the gas wastes excreted by the bacteria. While I don’t yet know what the price of his material is, I do not expect it to be cheap. On top of that, it’s a situation that will still involve long haul shipping. He offers good shipping terms, but the fact remains I think it is more responsible to use Chinese bamboo for products sold in China, and American bamboo for products sold in America.

On the Xin Ri Xian Group's organic bamboo plantation and nature preserve in Fujian province. It should be noted that the majority of the bamboo produced on this stunning plantation was for food use, not textiles.