Dress yourself up in FSC Bamboo
The next fashion trend may become forest-friendly street wear made from FSC certified bamboo viscose fibers.
A dedicated eco-yarn producer, Spanish Texplan S.A. has developed a specialized production of FSC bamboo viscose yarn.
The company is now engaging its buyers to get certified and start producing FSC-labeled fabrics.
Project Manager of Texplan Sergi Teixidó explains: "We carefully chose a supplier that is not only FSC-certified, but who also applies an ecologically superior bamboo processing technology known as Lenzing’s Lyocell. We opted for FSC certification in order to make sure that the natural environment of bamboo was well-managed and also to provide our customers with the added value of the FSC eco-label".
Next, Texplan launched a customer project to bring end products to the marketplace. The strategy brought results and recently the first customer, Portuguese A. Sampaio & Filhos Têxteis, became FSC-certified too.
High prospects for certified bamboo
The bamboo pulp used to produce the yarn comes from China. "Only few small-scale forest bamboo forest enterprises in China have been certified so far", explains Xiao Jianmin, representative of the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program in China.
"However, the potential for expanding the volume of certified bamboo is big. Managing bamboo forests responsibly while maintaining a high production is relatively easy, because bamboo grows very fast".
Xiao Jianmin dispels the idea that harvesting of bamboo could threaten rare bamboo forest-living species such as the Giant Panda: "Bamboo species providing habitats for pandas are not suitable for commercial purposes, and panda habitats are strictly protected in China. Moreover, commercial bamboo is typically grown in plantations".
In addition to fiber and textile production, bamboo is used for a variety of purposes ranging from furniture and kitchen utensils to floors and construction.
About Texplan
Texplan is a Spanish company specializing on eco-friendly industrial yarns. Besides its FSC Bamboo range, it works with recycled cotton. Texplan is
present in over 35 countries. The company became FSC chain of custody certified by the Rainforest Alliance in June 2009 (certificate registration code SW-COC-003799). Learn more at www.texplan.com. 
Pictures showing Texplan facilities © Texplan.
