So Bamboo. It’s a sort of hard wood isn’t it?

You might well think that the concept of bamboo towels and nappies makes as much sense as steel pillow cases or a chocolate fireguard. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Bamboo is a truly remarkable fibre.

Babaloo’s bamboo products are softer than any of the equivalent cotton products on the market today. And more absorbent to boot. And naturally anti-bacterial. And sustainably sourced. And more environmentally friendly. .

So that’s good, then, isn’t it?

Good? It’s fantastic. More and more everyday products such as clothing and paper will soon be made from bamboo. It’s the natural progression from cotton. Many people won't have come across bamboo as a fibre as it is a relatively new process, but they will. We're pretty much sure of it.

Firstly there's the absorbency – bamboo is 30% more absorbent than cotton. That’s a lot. So our towels, for example, leave you dry as a bone when you climb out of the bath or shower rather than standard cotton towels which tend to move the moisture around and thin it out on your bodies rather than actually absorbing it away from the skin. So no more running from the bathroom to the bedroom shivering and claiming “it’s freeeezing” when actually you’re just damp from the shower and it’s quite warm!

And that absorbency is obviously fantastic when it comes to babies nappies. 30% added absorbency means they absorb 30% more liquid, so leaking nappies and sore botties should soon become a thing of the past when you use our 100% bamboo nappies.

And as for the softness! Well you simply won’t believe how soft bamboo feels until you get your hands on it and have a good feel. We reckon our bamboo nappies feel quite similar to cashmere. No joke. It’s that soft.

Then there’s the fact that bamboo fibre is naturally anti-bacterial, even after it’s been washed. This means that the towels never develop that musty smell which cotton towels develop so quickly after use. And it’s therefore safer to put in your mouth too. No, not your mouth, but babies do it quite often, don't they. Well, you might enjoy chewing towels too, what do we know. Anyway, it’s safer. Leave it at that

You mentioned that bamboo is better for the environment than cotton. How?

Well, here are a couple of facts about cotton that you might not have known:

- More than 10% of all agricultural pesticides are used on cotton crops (Source: The Week 18 Nov 2006 quoting Daily Mail)

- Cotton also uses approximately 25% of the world's insecticides (including herbicides and defoliants)

- Over 2 billion pounds (that's 2,000,000,000...!) of synthetic fertilizers were applied to conventional cotton in 2000 in the US alone

- The Environmental Protection Agency considers seven of the top 15 pesticides used on cotton in 2000 in the United States as "possible" "likely" "probable" or "known" human carcinogens

- It takes roughly one-third of a pound of chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) to grow enough cotton for just one T-shirt.

Scary, isn’t it. And here are a couple of facts about bamboo that you might not have known either:

- It doesn’t require pesticides

- It’s one of the fastest growing plants on Earth (some species grow at upto 1 foot per day)

- It can be harvested upto four times a year

- It is harvested sustainably without the need to replant

Need we say more. This is exactly the reason why bamboo is such an amazing textile for use in everyday products. Not that our towels are everyday, of course…!

So I should buy some of your bamboo products to see what they’re really like then?

In a word, yes. Our towels are cheaper than most online retailers selling the same sort of products, and our nappies are simply a bargain. So go forth and spread the good word of Bamboo!

Happy Babaloo Bamboo Days!