There is hope

Tonight I had to make a rare trip to Bed Bath & Beyond with a friend, and there it was. The new Environmentally-Friendly Department on the second floor of the San Francisco SOMA store. I did a cartwheel. A green miracle.

Now, in between the off-gassing carpets, is a small selection of "natural products" as the salesperson called them. Organic cotton sheets, bamboo sheets, bamboo towels, green cleaners like Seventh Generation and Mrs. Meyers, bamboo rugs, organic body lotions, bamboo cutting boards, and even a bamboo broom which I couldn't resist buying. It's a start and a magnificent site to behold. Granted, bamboo items are normally very soft and these towels were a bit scratchy, and everything seemed to be made in China, but let's give credit where credit is due. Bed Bath & Beyond is showcasing eco-friendly products. There is hope.

And while we are at it, let's give some props to Pottery Barn who is also starting to make green inroads. For example, they are now offering bamboo towels and luxuriously soft bamboo throws. Worth perusing is their new Organic Cotton Collection with organic cotton towels, sheets, bath mats, and robes. I don’t have to tell you this, but organic cotton is grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, which means it is safer for you and the environment.  And Pottery Barn's catalogs are newly printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) mixed sources paper. The ideal would be recycled paper, but again, it's a start.

For high-end shoppers, the new Ralph Lauren Spa Collection showcases 100% Organic Cotton towels and sheets in soothing colors. Ah, I love a good organic spa.

My hope is that sustainable and reclaimed wood will be the next organic cotton, showing up in traditional stores everywhere. One can dream and one can work towards a dream. For now, let's celebrate these hopeful small-big steps and support our new green friends.

Comments

[Gib Cooper]

Hi Nadine

The bamboo textiles seem to be made out of two types of fibers. The "soft" textiles are made from chemically extracted bamboo rayon. This is processed much the same way as rayon from other cellulose sources. I am guessing the "scratchy" textiles are made from the mechanically extracted fibers which we hope is a cleaner process.

A good article about this is posted at Shellie & Michael Lackman's Lotus Organics Blog - http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/09/bamboo-facts-be.html

I have video of acbamboo paper mill in China from 1994 showing the caustic chemicals to make paper being dumped directly into the river adjacent to the mill. Let's hope they are cleaing up their act.

Best wishes,

Gib Cooper
Bambués de las Americas (BOTA), Executive Director