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How is Bamboo Viscose Made?

With its name ‘viscose’, it’s a given that bamboo fabric came from the cellulose (pulp) of the bamboo wood. There can also be eucalyptus viscose, sugar cane viscose, and beech viscose. Since all of these fibers were produced using the same process, it can be confusing if a bamboo fabric product only indicates that it’s made of ‘viscose’ without stating the actual wood source.

After deriving the bamboo viscose from the plant, it will be dissolved into a diluted sodium hydroxide to come up with a pulpy substance.

For the fiber to be viscous enough, it should have a proportion of 7% to 15% bamboo cellulose to 5% of sodium hydroxide.

This solution will be fermented, filtered, and degassed multiple times. After that, it will be fed into spinneret nozzles that go through a large container with diluted sulphuric acid. At this point, the viscose fibers harden. It’s then converted into bamboo fiber filaments. Bamboo viscose organic cotton spandex fabric goes through a similar process.

After removing much of the viscous consistency, the fibers will be spun and combed into threads. After that, the thread will be woven into fabric. Bamboo viscose organic cotton spandex fabric also gets combed into threads before each yarn is spun together.

Most of the bamboo viscose fibers were derived from the Moso bamboo plant. Also, most of them are grown in China, where it’s also processed and produced.
For bamboo viscose, the process stops here. But if you are looking for modal and lyocell bamboo fabrics, expect that it will require further production steps. Below, we discussed the differences between the three. In this video, KelheimFibres shows us wood viscose is made from mere raw materials to functional fabric:

Advantages of Bamboo Viscose

Bamboo viscose has been popular due to its soft texture that can pit with cotton. Aside from its comfy touch, the following benefits make bamboo viscose stand out among other fabrics:

THERMO-REGULATING PROPERTIES
Bamboo viscose is popular due to its excellent breathability. It keeps you fresh during summer days and if you tend to experience hot flashes at night. The best thing here is it’s warm to wear during winter. You can also choose from a variety of thread count to suit your preferred thickness and breathability. Bamboo viscose organic cotton spandex fabric is also thermo regulating.

MOISTURE-WICKING
Are you always sweaty? Maybe it’s time to switch to bamboo viscose fabric. Since bamboo is about four times more absorbent than cotton, it has higher moisture-wicking abilities. Due to this characteristic, the bamboo fabric will also absorb a lot of water and feel heavy when putting on the clothesline after washing. Nevertheless, it dries fast, so it shouldn’t be an issue.

ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES
Bamboo fabric is also known for its antibacterial properties that prevent odour build-up. This is an ideal choice for those who have issues with body odour. If used on pillows and sheets, it will help keep your bed smelling fresh. Bamboo viscose organic cotton spandex fabric also keeps your clothes smelling fresh.

HYPOALLERGENIC
Some people tend to be allergic to cotton due to the chemicals used in the production process. With this, the bamboo fabric becomes an excellent alternative. As long as it’s made organically and spun mechanically, it should have minimal off-gassing and harmful chemicals.

DISADVANTAGES OF BAMBOO VISCOSE
Like any fabric, bamboo viscose also comes with some disadvantages. The following are some of the downsides of using bamboo fabric:

EXPENSIVE
Bamboo fabric indeed comes with a heftier price tag than other fabric counterparts. Due to the intricate process it undergoes, this is quite understandable. Still, many are willing to splurge for the sake of comfort.

HIGH-MAINTENANCE
If you’re planning to shop for bamboo viscose clothes, sheets, or pillows, take note that it will require more attention while washing. First, you shouldn’t wash bamboo fabric with other textiles. This is to prevent the lint from attaching to the fibers of your bamboo viscose organic cotton spandex fabric.

Aside from that, you should wash bamboo fabric in cold water only. Take note that washing in hot water will cause shrinkage. Aside from that, you can only air dry bamboo fabric to prevent damages to it.

Bamboo Viscose vs. Modal vs. Lyocell

Basically, there are three types of bamboo fabric: viscose or rayon, modal, and lyocell.

VISCOSE
Above, we discussed how bamboo viscose is made as the first generation fiber. When we move forward to the second generation fiber, we have the modal bamboo fabric. They go through additional processes.

MODAL
Modal bamboo fabric is somewhat similar to viscose. However, it differs since it undergoes an extra treatment after spinning the fiber filaments. This is done to make the modal bamboo fabric stronger than viscose. Basically, both viscose and modal fabrics are made with the same solvent and process. The only difference is an extra process before the thread is woven into a fabric.

LYOCELL
Lastly, we have the lyocell bamboo fabric. This is widely different than modal and viscose since it’s made using a different solvent. Instead of sodium hydroxide as used in both viscose and modal, lyocell is produced through the organic compound M-Methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO). This is also eco-friendly and sometimes believed to be more environment-friendly than sodium hydroxide.