Bamboo Fiber Differences – Quick Read
A common question when researching Bamboo Bed Sheets. The answer is simple, where on Earth are you located? Okay, maybe not that simple, but most bamboo options, like the three stated in the question typically mean the exact same thing.
If you want to read no further: Bamboo Rayon, Bamboo Viscose and 100% Bamboo are usually pitching the same fabric.
The clarification of “100% Bamboo” is to ensure consumers that the bedding is not a mixture of Bamboo Viscose and some other material, such as cotton or microfiber. Blending is done to drop the cost of product, while attempting to still offer Bamboo as a part of the material. By blending, the quality of product drops as well.
But 100% Bamboo isn’t entirely correct either. 100% Bamboo is a synonym of sorts for Bamboo Rayon or Bamboo Viscose, which are, in the case of bamboo bedding, the same thing. Rayon suggests a semi-synthetic fiber, where “viscose rayon” is what is typically used to describe the threads created from Bamboo. For the sake of removing confusion, we will just call Bamboo Viscose as “Rayon” going forward. And we are doing so to compare Rayon to another Bamboo yarn option, Lyocell.
Lyocell is another type of process to turn the bamboo plant into comfortable bed sheets. This type of bamboo-based bedding is typically sold under the brand name Tencel®. It’s a great product and has some additional eco-friendly advantages over Bamboo Rayon.
But, there was one hump we could not get past. Through R&D, we could not find a Lyocell that was as comfortable as Rayon (aka Viscose). Lyocell is the more expensive option of the two, and felt our customers would be better served with a more comfortable, price-friendly option. Because of the increased cost of Lyocell, the material is more often seen on products that require less bamboo material, such as underwear and clothing.
Wooflinen bed sheets are 100% Viscose/Rayon from Bamboo. No blends, or other tricks to cut the quality of our sheets. And, to end on a fun fact, Rayon was originally invented to offer an alternate material to more expensive silk. Rayon was therefore described as “artificial silk”, a classification that is still very important today, as consumers readily purchase bamboo bed sheets as the perfect substitute for more expensive silk options.
