OBV

I just got called up on a French forum for listing an OBV nappy as "bio" (organic), because OBV has a small amount of polyester in it as a stabiliser. I went digging and came up with this article, which I thought was kind of interesting: http://www.pooponcloth.com/?p=800

I'd seen it relabelled as rayon on HyenaCart so it wasn't really a shock, and to me 2% polyester/98% organic fibers (assuming the bamboo is organic as well as the cotton ) is close enough for me, but there you go.

The site as a whole is a bit of a giggle, actually .

I know when we developed the Nappeco we looked into the ins and outs of being able to call a product organic.....officially I'm sure it only has to contain 85% min of organic materials etc for it to be classed as organic (I'm sure it was 85%....someone correct me if I'm wrong here lol) which was how the Nappeco is classed as organic despite having resin snaps.

That article did make me though....imagine having that much spare time on your hands to not only write, research but also be so emotionally overtaken by some bamboo

I think they're missing the point anyway. It's debatable whether you can call something organic that has been chemically processed into fibre to make it and it's more about open or closed loop manufacturing whereby those chemicals should be in a closed system. The poly content is nothing compared to that and OBV is treated less than many other manufactured fabrics like non-organic cotton, etc.

http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_web ... ts-be.html
http://imabeautygeek.com/2009/09/01/bam ... boo-rayon/
http://www.sustainlane.com/reviews/q-ar ... XSY4BYPB3N

I was very confused by it all

The few rolls of bamboo velour I have had arrive this week are a 70/30 bamboo and cotton both being ""organic"" and are a 260grm velour having no poly in atall and come from an "eco" factory in western europe where they are using the lyocell method and no bleaching. I just sold the 4 rolls I have coming from china that still have not arrived, that contain poly and rayon from bamboo and its only 210gm a square metre

After speaking with the textiles engineer at the factory last year they decided to only run an eco plant for making bamboo fibres, as it sort of defeats the object or running it as organic, the 2 percent poly, and all the chemicals that others use does the same thing as upping the weight of the fabric can do, and the strength of the knit comes from its better manufacture rather than the poly type which is often now used to make the lesser quality bamboo velour feel softer for longer, and strengthen a loose knit. My lips are sealed for the moment as its a trial run

I must admit that the process used to make the bamboo fibres the caustic soda way certainly is not quite as kind as most ppl would expect a fabric of this nature to be. I did put in a speil last year about the chemicals used and how long it actually takes for the poor bamboo plant to become something soft and luxurious when done this way.

The differnce is.. the stuff I got from china.. If I made things out of it in the states, I would have to call it rayon because the actual finshed percentage of bamboo content is actually pretty low, and is mixed with other celluloses to produce the *bamboo*.

Is that lyocell and tencel based then? Think the US class that a rayon as well. That's kind of semantics (and marketing) then really as to how fabrics are named perceived, so it doesn't make a lot of sense considering differences in manufacture.

The BV I stock is from China and certified organic, lead /chemical free, Oeko-Tex 100 label and pretty heavy weight. I'm alway interested in new fabrics though, especially where the manufacturing is entirely closed loop and chemicals reused.

Ooh, thanks for the info Ems... nice to know that there is some proper organic BV out there. Are you keeping your supplier a secret or could I give her their info? Pretty sure she's a French nappy-making WAHM. Wouldn't mind getting one up on her after her slightly snarky reply to my for-sale post

I cant yet as the trail run was only for 100 rolls which were all accounted for in September. They are due to carry on if they decide its viable. I bought 7 rolls just in case!!!! It does mean thought that somewhere there are another 93 rolls swanning around If they do decide to carry on, I will most certainly post details as I'm hoping they will take up other fabrics too On the negative side, it is a bit expensive, but the plus side its nice to have Europe made goods, that are deliverable inside a week!

I was very confused by it all

Me too and I'm not sure that the newer posts have made it any clearer for me! I thought it was called organic because the farming process didn't include many chemicals. I'm hoping it is all panda friendly too as bamboo deforestation is making it hard(er) for them to breed. Conventional cotton farming is very polluting so that is why, for me, it seemed a better option. I did think that the processing of the fibre would be polluting but no more so than other cloth processing.

R has a bamboo romper and I noticed the label calls it viscose and that is Oeko-Tex certified.

On the negative side, it is a bit expensive, but the plus side its nice to have Europe made goods, that are deliverable inside a week!

For me it is better to spend a bit more on a better and more enviromentally friendly product. I will have to try my hardest at stalking your website so that I can actually get a nappy made out of it! I agree that it is nice to be able to buy something not made in China too!