Fallowing a spate of claims of textiles made out ofbamboo, the US and Canada have joined together to target textile and apparelproducts that are allegedly being sold and advertised as made of bamboo inviolation of us and Canadian law. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announcedin February that it has sent letters to 78 retailers warning that they may bebreaking the law by selling apparel and other textile products that arelabelled and advertised as "bamboo" but are actually made ofmanufactured rayon fibre.


The FTC sued several companies in 2009 for allegedlycommitting similar violations. While the FTC acknowledges that it has seenaction by some retailers to correct this problem, the letters are intended"as a wake-up call to all companies, regard less of their size."


Rayon is a man-made fibre created from the cellulose foundin plants and trees and processed with harsh chemicals that release hazardousair pollution. Any plant or tree including bamboo- could be used as thecellulose source, but the fibre that is created is rayon. Textiles and apparelmay be labelled as made of bamboo only if they are made directly with bamboofibre (often called "mechanically processed bamboo"). Articles madewith bamboo pulp that has undergone a chemical fibre-making process, however, mustbe labelled as made of rayon.


For its part, Canada's Competition Bureau announced in thatit has launched a comprehensive effort to ensure that textiles and apparel soldin Canada are not labelled as made of bamboo when they are actually made of rayon,in accordance with the requirements of the Textile Labelling and AdvertisingRegulations. According to the Bureau, which has claimed considerable success inthis regard, more than 450,000 textile and apparel articles have been relabelledin Canada and over 250 Web sites corrected as a resuIt of this effort. Canadianofficials identified a total of 27 dealers that were offering products for salewith inaccurate labels as well as 94 on-line merchants advertising and sellingproducts that were either inaccurately labelled or advertised in a misleadingmanner. The Bureau notes that it is not aware of any consumer textile articlesmade of natural bamboo fibre currently being sold in the Canadian marketplace.


The Bureau contacted a range of retailers, importers,manufacturers, sellers, processors and finishers to inform them of its concernsregarding certain textile labelling and advertising. These actions includedletters and e-mails as well as direct discussions, on-site inspections and, inone instance, independent testing. Canadian authorities note that consumers maybe paying a higher price for articles labelled as made of bamboo on theassumption that they have environmentally friendly or health enhancingqualities. The FTC and Canada's Competition Bureau have issued guidancedesigned to help businesses selling textiles and apparel that are labelled asbeing made of bamboo market their products in ways that are truthful,non-deceptive and in compliance with the law.



Originallypublished in The Stitch Times: April 2010