May 9, 2008

y appologies for the lack of a blog again. All my free time has been working on the magazine, so you will be getting Winter and Spring together. I have also been busy at work and working the land here at the farm, now that the snows have gone away as of three days ago! I have not been to the back 40 to see if it is all gone out there, but in the main yard and barnyard it is. That said, it has snowed almost every evening for the last week up to 2" one night. By late afternoon it has mostly disappeared. There could yet be a large snow dump. My friends in Australia and New Zealand are cringing I know.

It must be Spring however as the asparagus is coming up in their beds. I looked a couple days ago and there was no sign of them, but I have a few about as thick as my thumb now arriving. Maybe later in the week I can have my first feed of them. I also noted that my Grape Hyacinths are also starting to peek their heads up from the soil 

I went to an event for my work in the last week and I want to share with you what I found.
Socks which are made from bamboo fiber. Yes, the same stuff that Panda's eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner (I know this as I was in charge of 5 Red Panda's for over a year and their fav is 'black bamboo' when I worked for the zoo as a zookeeper and vet tech).

Bamboo clothing is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-static, de-odorizing, breathable, thermal regulating (cool in hot weather and warm in cool weather), and environmentally friendly.

• Bamboo fabric has a natural sheen and softness that feels and drapes like silk but is less expensive and more durable.
• Bamboo clothing is easy to launder in a clothes washer and dryer.
• Because of the smooth and round structure of its fibers, bamboo clothing is soft and non-irritating, even to sensitive skin. Some people with chemical sensitivities can not tolerate bamboo clothing. We are not sure if this intolerance is due to the intrinsic nature of bamboo but it more likely because of other chemicals added or used during the manufacturing and finishing processes of the clothing.
• Bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal supposedly because of a bacteriostatis agent unique to bamboo plants called “bamboo kun” which also helps bamboo resist harboring odors. “Kun” is also sometimes spelled “kunh”. The bamboo kun in bamboo fabric stops odor-producing bacteria from growing and spreading in the bamboo cloth allowing bamboo clothing to be more hygienic and to remain fresher smelling.
• Bamboo clothing is hypoallergenic.
• Bamboo is highly absorbent and wicks water away from the body 3 to 4 times faster than cotton. In warm, humid and sweaty weather, bamboo clothing helps keep the wearer drier, cooler and more comfortable and doesn’t stick to the skin.
• The structure of bamboo fibers make bamboo fabrics more breathable and thermal regulating than cotton, hemp, wool or synthetic fabrics.
• Bamboo clothing is naturally more wrinkle-resistant than cotton, and while it might still require ironing after washing, bamboo fabric can be ironed at a lower temperature than cotton. Shrinkage during washing and drying is minimal at warm temperatures.
• Bamboo fibers and fabrics absorb dyes faster and more thoroughly than cotton, modal and viscose with better color clarity. Bamboo fabrics do not need to be mercerized to improve their luster and dye-ability like cotton requires.

I highly recommend these awesome socks made from Bamboo fiber. Contact Vivian Kleemair at vkleemair@netscape.ca to order a pair. They are very inexpensive and I am going to test these things to death to see how long they hold up. I was a shoe tester once for hiking boots and should have done the same for socks too! So far so good on these ones. I generally only wear wool or cotton socks as I loathe anything synthetic on my skin, so I was surprised at how well I liked the feel of these socks. Although it looks like I only have one pair in the top picture, there are actually two. I have a white and a black pair. I am wearing them as I type and in the lower picture. They are so soft and light, I have to wiggle my toes to even feel that they are on. Give Vivian a email and order some for yourself!!

Bamboo the plant and also bamboo the fabric can rate high as an environmentally friendly and renewable resource:

• Bamboo grows rapidly and naturally without any pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers.
• Bamboo clothing (both mechanically and chemically manufactured) is 100% biodegradable and can be completely decomposed in the soil by micro-organisms and sunlight without decomposing into any pollutants such as methane gas which is commonly produced as a by-product of decomposition in landfills and dumps.
• Growing bamboo improves soil quality and helps rebuild eroded soil. The extensive root system of bamboo holds soil together, prevents soil erosion, and retains water in the watershed.
• Bamboo grows naturally without the need for agricultural tending and large diesel exhaust-spewing tractors to plant seeds and cultivate the soil.
• Bamboo plantations are large factories for photosynthesis which reduces greenhouse gases. Bamboo plants absorb about 5 times the amount of carbon dioxide (a primary greenhouse gas) and produces about 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees.

Bamboo fabrics and clothing can be manufactured and produced without any chemical additives although eco-certification is necessary to insure that the manufacturing and finishing processes are healthy.

Currently, there are no known genetically modified organisms (GMO) variants of bamboo. Let's hope it stays that way.