Bamboo Babies: Warming Up in Winter Weather

Wool and heavy cottons are usually the fabrics that come to mind when we think of keeping warm in the winter season, but what about bamboo fibres as an alternative to itchy wools and chemically produced cottons? It’s an option, unbeknownst to some, that’s really worth considering. There are multiple reasons for parents to consider a bamboo wardrobe for themselves and especially their babies.

For new parents especially, overdressing your babies for winter weather may seem instinctual however keeping your infant safe and comfortable is important, and this means making sure they’re never too hot or too cold. Bamboo clothing is thermo-controlled, which makes it the perfect option.

Bamboo clothing is also very breathable, another essential factor in keeping your baby comfortable. Believe it or not, it’s actually four times more absorbent than cotton. A handy bit of information to soppy up those puddles dragged in my snowy boots.

Finally, bamboo clothing is also softer than other fabrics which becomes particularly important when wearing layers of itchy wools and polyesters all day. For babies especially, softness and comfort is everything.

Ultimately, bamboo fibres are a great alternative for heavy fabrics during chilly months. As a concerned parent, you’ll find many of your worries alleviated. And as a casual spender, you’ll find your wallet no lighter than it was before. Bamboo clothing is a luxury without the luxurious cost. So consider bamboo the next time you bring out the old winter wardrobe or start creating one for that new special member of the family.

Pandas and Bamboo in China

Pandas are beautiful creatures that live in China, along side bamboo!  Although they have the digestive systems of carnivores, pandas eat up to 38 kilograms of bamboo each day!  Only 1 per cent of their diet consists of small rodents or other plants.  The experts say that since they have carnivorous appetites, but love bamboo, they need to eat more of it to keep their energy levels adequate – not that they do much except eat, sleep and play!

Unfortunately, the panda is also an endangered species and, to make the problem worse, they’re not the best breeders in the animal kingdom, being very shy in personality.

So is it a problem that us humans are now using the panda’s food source of bamboo to make fabric fibers?  Not at all!

For starters, there are about 1000 bamboo species and pandas eat about 30 of the different varieties of bamboo.  The bamboo we use to make fabrics is not the type that pandas eat.

Not only that, but bamboo is the fastest growing plant out there, and can grow back to fullness within 7 years, without having to replant.  If you’ve ever planted a bamboo stalk, you’ll know how easily it spreads and begins to pop up everywhere!  That’s why bamboo forests are a much better option for manufacturing things that we use as humans, such as furniture, paper, building supplies and even fabric!

The Chinese government and its Ministry of Forestry is very active in preserving the panda and tries very hard to help the animals escape their endangered status.  Recently, in addition to the 40 panda reserves in China, a fifth breeding center for pandas was announced.  It will help teach the pandas how to breed, since they’re not that good at it when left on their own.  A panda mother takes two years to raise a cub before sending if off on it’s own so she can bear another.  Research has also been in done in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund (also known as the World Wide Fund For Nature, or WWF), which sent researchers to China to help develop a forest management plan that would limit the cutting down of non-reserve forests where pandas live.

According to an article published by Pennsylvania State University Research, the main threat to pandas is due to illegal logging and poaching in what the government has classified as natural reserves.  In these reserves, no one is allowed to harm the wildlife, although some do anyway, despite the high risk to their liberty.  The Chinese government has even sentenced first-time poachers to life in prison and even to death for killing a panda.  However, the huge money (thousands of dollars) involved in the trade of panda pelts in other Asian countries and the difficulty of controlling hunters in thick forest makes poaching still a problem.

If you would like to help preserve the panda, visit the WWF site’s ‘How you can Help’ page where you can see a list of ways to donate, take action, and spread the word.

Facts about pandas:

Pandas need 4.9 square kilometers for their habitats, and often habitats of pandas overlap.  They don’t like to go far from their home.

It is very rare to see a panda in the wild.  They are very shy and live like hermits.  Scientists aren’t sure how many pandas there are in the wild, but they estimate it to be somewhere between 1500 and 3000.  Pandas can, however, be seen in zoos and breeding reserves where humans work with them.

In time, there has been confusion about whether or not the panda is a bear or a raccoon, because it shares characteristics of both.  However, scientists believe it is in fact a bear.

In the 1970s, pandas as loans were used by the Chinese to form relationships with outside countries, namely America and Japan.  Today, pandas are given on 10-year “rentals” to American zoos for a yearly fee (sometimes $1 million) and half of that fee goes into conservation efforts in China.

The panda cub is only 1/900 of its mother’s weight, ranging between 90 to 130 grams and is about the size of a stick of butter!

A baby panda can start eating bamboo after 6 months.

A female panda can only mate once a year, but takes one and half years to raise a cub, and can only raise one cub at a time.

In 2009 the first baby panda was born after being conceived by artificial insemination.  Overall, scientists believe that the conservation efforts on pandas is working, but do not have enough conclusive information to remove the ‘endangered’ label.  Still, the efforts have increased wild pandas by 40 per cent since the 1980s.

A panda weighs between 100 to 150 kilograms and can grow up to 150 centimeters.

Pandas have lived as their own species (apart from other types of bears) in China for over 3 million years.  For that reason they are sometimes called the “living fossil.”

Pandas live for up to 20 years in the wild and 30 years in captivity.

New Organic Bamboo Linens Launched as Eco-Friendly and Health-Conscious Choice for Consumers

For immediate release, Dec. 10, 2009

For a true ecologist, caring for the planet is a job that goes to bed with you.  That’s where Shoo-Foo’s new organic bamboo sheets come in handy.

The new line of bed linens was launched recently as a response to customer pleas who have, until now, have been enjoying the Canadian brand’s high quality, super absorbent, cashmere-soft towels made from bamboo viscose – a new and emerging product for the eco-friendly consumer.

“We have been asked by so many of our clients over the last year.  People like the softness of our bamboo towels on their skin and the next question was: do you have bed linens?” says Shoo-Foo founder, Dany Filion.

The new bed sheets come with all the known benefits of bamboo fibers, being made 100 per cent from naturally antibacterial and hypoallergenic materials that are eco-friendly.  Not only that, the sheets are breathable, which makes them fitting with any temperature, especially for those who suffer from thermal problems, such as hot or cold flashes.

“With these bamboo sheets, your body doesn’t need to fight to maintain its body temperature. This ‘fight’ is usually at the origin of feeling hot.  When you suffocate under a fabric which doesn’t breath well – silk for example – your body starts to sweat, then the sweat on your body makes you feel cold,” explains Filion.

Filion adds the product will also appeal to those who suffer from sensitive skin, since the “biological nature of bamboo keeps germs and fungus away, so bamboo linens stay fresh longer. For people with sensitive skin, it’s a must because it’s a bacteria-free environment.”

The fabric also possesses a luxurious feel, with a 300 thread count and “a very sober design”, coming in a violet-gray colour (called “wild rice”), with ivory accents that could suit any room design, whether classic or contemporary.

The linens currently come in queen sizes, with twin and other colours becoming available in the fall.  Orders and gift registries can be made online at www.shoo-foo.com, or for the in-store experience, the following retailers are already carrying stock, with more to come soon:

Organix on Granville Island
Noyma in Montreal
Dream with me in Nanaimo

The linens, which are a new product to the Canadian market, will also be featured for the first time at the EPIC convention in Vancouver, as well as the fall Alberta Gift Show and the August Montreal Gift Show.

About Shoo-Foo:
Shoo-Foo was born in 2006 when owner Dany Filion learned that cotton and textile production was causing major harm to the planet. Bamboo on the other hand is organic, free of pesticides, naturally antibacterial and sourced from one of earth’s most sustainable and naturally renewable plants.  It is also four times more absorbent than cotton, which makes it great for towels.  Thus, a bamboo towel line was launched, followed by a collection of bamboo baby products in 2008, and now, in late 2009, bamboo bed linens.

Shoo-Foo’s products are ethically manufactured in China close to bamboo forest and transported by ocean freight to Canada to ensure the smallest ecological footprint possible.  Packaging of products is no more than a cotton ribbon that displays the Shoo-Foo logo, while boxes are reused for shipping and warehouse space is shared for even more sustainable responsibility.

Contact info:

To arrange an interview or for more information, please contact:

Dany Filion, President & Founder
604.783.4806, dany@shoo-foo.com

To become a retailer or to purchase products, please visit:

www.shoo-foo.com

Ecologist grows bamboo business with planet-saving towels

When coffee accidentally spills on a hundred-something year old wooden table (worth thousands), owner of Shoo-Foo Eco Linens, Dany Filion dashes to her display towels and comes to the rescue with the absorbent power of bamboo fibers.  In seconds the pressing of her towels against the wood dry up moisture and leave no trace behind.

“This should be a commercial! Where’s our camera?” She jokes, while the rest of the room stares tensely, wondering if the precious antique will survive.  “There, now let’s sit down and please, have some cookies” are her proceeding words.

After sitting in an ancient, ornately decorated chair, the atmosphere calms down and one can’t help but think, ‘THIS, is sooooo cool.’

Filion started Shoo-Foo when a light bulb went on in her head back in 2006.  She was reading about developments in bamboo usage for creating textiles.  The same article revealed that cotton production, with the many chemicals used to treat the plant, was heavily damaging the environment.  Bamboo on the other hand was organic, free of pesticides, naturally antibacterial and sourced from one of earth’s most sustainable plants.  It was also four times more absorbent than cotton.  Go figure – why not make towels out of it?

At that point, the Quebec born, ecologist-trained entrepreneur who spent more than 10 years living in China made a firm decision that she would be part of the bamboo textile movement.

“This project (Shoo-Foo) brings all my professional experience together…ecology, Chinese culture and business venture; you’ve got them all into the Shoo-Foo project. That makes me feel at home, this impression of being at the right place at the right time,” she describes.

From then on, it was action upon action. The bamboo convert registered her business name and began forming alliances with suppliers in China.  At the time, no other Canadian company was doing the same.

Filion was a well-seasoned business woman ready for more adventure. Having built two retail companies – one selling antique furniture and the other an art gallery still in existence – Shoo-Foo was going to be a fresh slice of pie; it was born wholesale.

“I had been looking for a fun wholesale business to do for a little while. Being otherwise in the art business, a very volatile business, I was looking for something else…which can bring – at a business angle – a little more financial stability,” she recalls.

For spreading eco love, it made a lot of sense.  Today production is still onsite, near bamboo forest in China, thus cutting down transport pollution.  Large quantities are made at a time, which Filion calls “less energivore.”  When complete, orders are sent by boat directly to their final retail destinations, leaving as few footprints on the earth as possible.

Filion cherry-picked the manufacturers she would work with in China. The deal was rolled out upfront: security and health of workers, the environment, ethics and quality control were not to be compromised.

“We…make sure we always share the same values.”

Filion hates packaging. If it weren’t said in words, it would be in action. Boxes are reused and towels aren’t wrapped in anything but a cloth ribbon displaying the Shoo-Foo logo.  Office and warehouse space is shared.

In 2007, Shoo-Foo launched a Web site and set out to attend tradeshows across the country, giving it true Canadian reach.  Retailers loved it and signed on.  Then attention was, and still is being, brought to end users at shows such as EPIC.

“Bamboo is still very new on the market and very few people know about it, so we…generate direct experience for the consumers.”

And that she does:

“Most People love the softness and absorbency of bamboo fabric. The only concern I heard up to now is, once we convert yourself to bamboo linens, you don’t know what to do with all the other linens you have in your closet!”

In Fall, 2008, Shoo-Foo launched a baby line and now is moving into bed linens.  Filion says sales are rising and popularity is growing weekly.  The goal is that the Shoo-Foo brand will become a main reference to quality bamboo linens on the market.

“We want to offer a good quality alternative to cotton in the realm of home linens…that would help diminishing the need for growing cotton, which is a very damageable culture for the environment.”

For Filion, love of planet earth has become a means of survival.  She hopes her efforts will in turn help earth survive.  And so, the quest continues…

“We will constantly look for new ways to support choices for a healthy lifestyle and a low eco-footprint…And we truly love bamboo!”