Bamboo vs. Recycled Polyester – The Sustainability Duel

Short answer: Bamboo and recycled polyester are two different answers to the same problem. Recycled polyester saves new oil, but it releases microplastics in the wash and smells like all synthetics. Bamboo is a fast-growing raw material with no microplastics, but it is processed chemically. Neither is perfect, and we say it as it is.

Bamboo and Recycled Polyester: Two Sets of Accounts

Recycled polyester is typically made from plastic bottles and saves crude oil compared with new polyester. But the fibres are still plastic: they shed microplastics in the wash and end up as plastic waste. Bamboo grows quickly without irrigation and fertiliser, but it has to go through a chemical process to become viscose. You will find the whole honest calculation in the guide to bamboo and the environment.

Comfort Decides How Much You Wear It

Sustainability is also about how long the clothes are actually used. Recycled polyester quickly smells of sweat, while bamboo breathes and inhibits odour-causing bacteria, so it stays in your wardrobe for years. Read the comparison in the article about bamboo for training.

The Pragmatic Choice

Choose recycled polyester for shell layers and rain jackets, where the properties of plastic are necessary, and bamboo for everything against the skin. See for example bamboo activewear for women, or look for FSC certified items, where the origin of the bamboo has been verified.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is recycled polyester not sustainable?

It is better than new polyester, because it saves oil. But it still sheds microplastics in the wash and has the odour problem of synthetics.

So is bamboo clothing the green choice?

Bamboo is a fast-growing raw material with no microplastics, but processing it into viscose requires chemistry. It is a sensible choice, not a perfect one.

What does the choice mean for me in practice?

Synthetics for shell layers, bamboo against the skin. And whatever the material, the most sustainable clothes are the ones you use for a long time and wash gently.