The North Face's 2008 Bamboo Clothing

We recently told you about Sprayway's new range of bamboo-based clothing and they're not the only brand using the sustainable fabric out there, The North Face is also using bamboo in some of its spring 2008 Flight Series Endurance range.

Fabrics based on bamboo are claimed to be lightweight, wick effectively, dry quickly and also be kind to the environment. The clothing isn't actually woven from bamboo fibres though, the way it works is that dried bamboo is carbonised in a kiln then ground into a fine powder.

Then the powder is blended with a polymer to form fibres which are woven or knitted into fabrics. The fabric's properties are partly down to the porous nature of the bamboo-derived carbon, particularly efficient moisture handling and an ability to trap odour-causing molecules where they can decompose without causing odours. The dark black of the carbon also helps to screen out harmful UV rays.

And because the carbon is an intrinsic part of the fabric's fibres, the properties are permanent and can't be washed out, unlike a coating or treatment. And of course, bamboo is completely renewable and can grow up to a foot per day....

The North Face products using the bamboo-based fabrics are mostly lightweight jackets, tops tees, tights and so on, aimed at endurance athletes. They include the Men's Vitesse Fuse Tee for men and the Women's Vitesse Dynamite Tee - above. Also in the range are the Men's and Women's L/S Vitesse Delta - zip which is made from a slightly thicker fabric, plus the soft feeling stretch Men's Thunder Short and Women's Elli Trail Short.

Interesting stuff. More information at www.thenorthface.com.