Clothing and textiles derived from bamboo must be labelled as rayon or viscose to counter a widely held but mistaken perception that the fabric is environmentally friendly, the Competition Bureau has ruled.

The bureau announced last week that labels and advertising have been corrected on 450,000 textile items, as well as on 250 websites that sell clothing and textile products.

The changes came after an investigation in the U.S. and Canada found that rayon derived from bamboo was no more natural or environmentally friendly than rayon derived from oak and beech trees.

"Consumers thought they were buying natural fibre, and it turns out they weren't," said Madeleine Dussault, assistant to the bureau. "Rayon from bamboo or viscose from bamboo does contain bamboo pulp, but it's a chemically processed or man-made fibre, and that needed to be made clear in the minds of consumers so they could make a good purchasing decision.

Link: Read the story

"If you read the label 'rayon from bamboo' or 'viscose from bamboo,' you understand what you're buying now. It was a breach that needed to be corrected."

The Ottawa-based Canadian Apparel Federation agrees the description of bamboo as a natural fibre was somewhat misleading and has worked closely with the bureau on educating manufacturers and retailers about the new labelling requirements.

"Cottons or wools have been cleaned and carded, but they haven't been transformed," the federation's executive director, Bob Kirke, said in an interview. "Man-made fibres are different — things like polyester. Labels don't say petroleum; they say polyester, because there's a specific way of labelling them.