About Moso Bamboo? Bamboo is arguably one of the world’s best sustainable resources. With a growth rate of up to 3 feet or more per day, bamboo holds the world record as the fastest growing plant.  Also, bamboo is actually not a wood but a grass, continuously sending up new shoots after harvesting without a need for replanting. It can grow in almost any climate, but the ‘big bamboo’ is only found in (sub) tropical climates, where certain species can reach heights of 45 to 60 feet (with diameters of 1.14 feet)! The world’s largest bamboo reservoir is located in China. This is where Milton Bamboo raw materials are born.  Here the ‘Phyllostachys pubescens’ is a bamboo species (Moso) which has been grown for centuries. It is grown in managed bamboo forests which have been certified as an organic bamboo farm by the USDA NOP Program.  Each year ± 30% of the forest  is harvested without reducing the forest in size. This is possible because the growth of new bamboo is also around 30% each year. The cutting is the most important environmental argument and that is what makes bamboo so unique. Every year the parent bamboo plant makes several new stems that grow to maturity in a few months. Each stem needs 5 years to gain the necessary hardness. In a mature bamboo plantation the 5 year old stems can be harvested every year, without decreasing the size of the forest. Bamboo can be utilized in just 4-5 years unlike traditional hardwoods that not only take 25-70 years to mature, but also require replanting.   Milton Bamboo chooses Moso Bamboo as sustainable raw material for clothing products. Farms Certified organic.   Good for the Environment. Fighting Global Warming. Bamboo takes in nearly 5 times the amount of greenhouse gasses, and produces 35% more oxygen, than an equivalent stand of trees, making it an efficient replenish-er of fresh air. Energy from the sun reaches the earth as short-wave radiation; some is absorbed and, historically, some is radiated back as long-wave radiation. The increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere trap an inordinate amount of long-wave radiation on earth. This increase is attributable to human activity and its production of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas. Human activity is also responsible for the severe damage to earth’s ability to absorb CO2 as a result of the destruction of forests and depletion of the ozone layer, which allows UV-B radiation to destroy the oceanic plankton, one of the major filters for CO2. By encouraging the growth and utilization of bamboo, we can begin to combat global warming. Bamboo removes CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis by using carbon as an energy source and converting it into plant tissue which releases oxygen as a by-product. Bamboo offers an opportunity to turn away from the destruction of native forests, and towards managed commercial plantations that can be selectively harvested annually without the destruction of the grove or stand. While tree plantations must be chopped down for harvest, bamboo renews itself by sending up new shoots constantly. The ability of bamboo to rapidly take up excess nutrients contained in waste waters from manufacturing, intensive livestock farming, and sewage plants, has captured the attention of industrial and municipal engineers seeking to establish environmentally safe and reliable ways to deal with such issues. Healthy Soil. Bamboo also stabilizes the earth with its erosion preventing roots, and improves the health of the soil by sequestering excess nitrogen. Cotton crops require wide spacing that allow bare soils to bake and oxidize, releasing carbon into the atmosphere and decreasing soil fertility. Further, bamboo retains water in the watershed, reduces runoff, sustains riverbanks, and helps mitigate water pollution due to its high nitrogen consumption. Organic. Bamboo is also good for our ecosystems because it does not require chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Panda safe. Incidentally, there are over 1200 species of bamboo on this planet. All our products are manufactured from Moso bamboo, which is not the species eaten by Pandas. Moso bamboo has no leaf growth on the first 15 feet of the stem and is therefore not a source of food for the panda.   Milton Bamboo confirms no harm to Pandas. Pesticides/Insecticides – Bamboo/Cotton. Bamboo thrive naturally without the use of any pesticides or fertilizers and are seldom eaten by the pests or infected by pathogens. Tests conducted by the Japanese Textile Inspection Association concluded that bamboo fabric retained this property even after the garment was washed at least fifty times. However, the technical data regarding these claims regarding bamboo's anti-microbial property have not been verified by an analytical lab in the USA and therefore, its veracity remains debatable.  However, regardless of the complexity of the technical data, the simple fact remains that bamboo is an earth easy plant that is known to have slowed down the soil erosion in vast areas of land in China. Bamboo also has the potential to significantly contribute to making up for some of the damage done by deforestation. You might have heard that bamboo clothing, bamboo bath towels and shirts of bamboo or other garments are unbelievably soft, and must be wondering where this quality comes from. Well, unlike most other fibers, at a microscopic level bamboo fiber is claimed to have a rounded and smooth surface. Because of this, the manufacturers claim that bamboo clothing, and shirts of bamboo fabric, are very smooth and sit perfectly next to the skin. Petroleum based synthetic fibers and conventionally grown cotton textiles on the other hand, can sometimes irritate the skin and also start to smell quickly. Let's compare this with cotton. Cotton is very sensitive to pest infestation and drought. Every one Kg of cotton lint production requires 10,000 - 17,000 liters of water. Cotton production accounts for 2.4% of total arable land, yet accounts for 11% of global pesticide use and 25% of global insecticide use (Kooistra & Termorshaizen, 2006). Approximately 40,000 lives are lost each year due to pesticide / insecticide application (WHO, 2002). Approximately 100 million hectares of land (8% of global arale land) has been lost due to over-exploitation with the main cause being salinisation caused by improper irrigation practices employed in cotton production. Then there is the environmental impact. Each year, it is estimated that approximately 67 million birds are killed by pesticides (Lotus, 2004). There is also the impact on our rivers, lake systems, and ground water.   Milton Bamboo chooses organic cotton only to team with Viscose from bamboo. Good Enough for you?.  If you are thinking of purchasing bamboo clothing or any clothing that has been made outside the U.S., look for certification from an independent and reliable certification company such as Oeko-Tex, Soil Association, SKAL, KRAV or similar organic or sustainable certification body. Currently, the Oeko-Tex label is the most comprehensive label for insuring that the garment is healthy for consumers, but it does not certify the manufacturing processes that produced the garment as being environmentally friendly and sustainable. All Milton Bamboo products have the Oeko-Tex 100 certification, at a minimum. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Milton Bamboo completes product research on bamboo suppliers and supply chain.