Bamboo vs. Cotton: Why Cotton is King
As textile/fabric experts, we are often asked about the best materials for creating breathable, comfortable and sustainable blankets. Two popular mainstream contenders are bamboo and cotton. So, let us help you decide which is the perfect choice for your blanket needs.
Bamboo:
Bamboo has become a popular choice in recent years due to its sustainability credentials. This fast-growing plant requires minimal water making it an eco-friendly option.
When it comes to threading, bamboo blankets are made using a process called "bamboo viscose." The fibers are transformed into a soft material by extracting he fibers from the bamboo. Now, this is the part no one tells you . . . In order to transform bamboo into fibers, bamboo has to be soaked in extremely toxic chemicals in order to breakdown the bamboo and create the fibers. There is no other way to extract the fibers from bamboo.
Cotton:
Cotton, on the other hand, has been forever been a favorite for its breathability, versatility, and durability, making it a sustainable & comfortable choice for year-round use. For these and the reasons below, we chose to make our oversized, breathable, temperature regulating, adult blanket with muslin cotton.
Did you know that buying 100% Cotton helps the earth? It is considered an “essential crop” due to it being a natural-fiber drought-tolerant plant. Cotton is also a renewable resource that can be grown year after year without depleting the soil or damaging the ecosystem.
Cotton Cleans the Air! The natural fibers on the cotton plant capture carbon dioxide (the primary GHG contributing to climate change) from the atmosphere as they grow. Just 1 acre of no-till cotton stores 350 lbs more of atmospheric carbon than it emits during cotton production, meaning that cotton’s contribution to the carbon equation is net negative!!
Cotton is primarily fed by rain! Most of the water used to produce cotton is naturally occurring from rainfall. In the U.S., 65% of cotton acreage doesn’t use irrigation. Just 1 acre-inch of rain is needed for modern cotton varieties to yield approx. 50 lbs of lint and 75 lbs of seed (enough to make more than 170 t-shirts and feed more than 10 cows).
Muslin Comfort’s manufacturer is also waterless! We have our own on-site water recycling facility and use recycled water in our manufacturing process, saving billions of gallons of water.
Cotton is biodegradable! Since cotton is a natural fiber, it breaks down in water in just over 3 months, at a rate similar to Oak leaves.
Cotton is eco-friendly - 100% natural. Our muslin cotton products are made from 100% natural cotton fibers that create less emissions than synthetics and are more biodegradable. Our muslin is made from OEKO Tex certified and 100% organic cotton, which makes it even better for our health as well as the soil, as no pesticides are used.
We ORGANIC! Organic cotton consumes fewer chemicals and resources compared to regular cotton. It uses 62% less energy and 88% less water. It does not strain rivers and seas as 80% of organic cotton is rain-fed.
