Question from Erik Harper
I am in the search for a good pair of all-around athletic shoes and I came across a new pair by Patagonia called Boaris that says it uses nanobon particles in it’s interior lining that come from bamboo charcoal. I don’t like the word “nano” (especially after reading Michael Crichton’s Prey and Enough by Bill McKibben), so I did some research on the subject.
Turns out the fabric is most likely produced in a way like the company called GreenYarn (www.greenyarnstore.com). They use bamboo charcoal in their fabrics for the moisture-wicking and odor-reducing properties. I commenced looking up bamboo charcoal and found out a lot of good uses for it and the fact that it is much more environmentally sustainable to use bamboo to produce charcoal than wood.
I am wondering if you have heard of this kind of thing and know of any impacts on both health and the environment when purchasing this type of fabric. I normally stay away from bamboo textiles, as the chemical process for turning shoots into yarn seems more unsafe than the sustainability of bamboo in general, but haven’t heard much about bamboo as charcoal.
Any thoughts, advice, insights on this?
Debra’s Answer
This is new to me, but there are a lot of new things now–both better and worse.
I agree it would be more sustainable to use bamboo charcoal than wood charcoal.
I’m concerned about the “nano” aspect of it as well.
There are so many variations in how fabrics are produced it would be impossible for me to comment on the sustainability of a fabric without more details.
I would contact Patagonia and ask them for their “life cycle analysis” on these shoes.
