Insert Choices: Bamboo!

     Bamboo is one of those fabrics people love to love.  From clothing to towels, sheets and diapers, it just feels nice saying "it's bamboo".  
What is it?
     Bamboo fabric is a natural textile that's made from bamboo trees (for the technical people out there, bamboo is actually a grass!). Bamboo fabric can be made mechanically or chemically. Mechanically, the woody parts of the bamboo plant are crushed and then natural enzymes break the bamboo walls into a pulp so that the fibers can be combed out and spun into yarn. This is a pretty labor -intensive method and is how 'bamboo linen' is made.  Chemically,  crushed plant parts are put into a bath of chemicals which break them down, then into more chemicals to produce fibers.  The process is basically the same as getting fibers out of wood for paper making and is the process that's been used when you see 'bamboo rayon' on the tag.  It's also the most common process used.
Good Points:
   Bamboo is a sustainable and renewable resource.  It's also natural and durable.  Bamboo's incredibly soft, antibacterial and hypoallergenic.  It has great absorbency and therefore you can get a nice, trim diaper that absorbs as much as it's bulkier cotton counterpart.  Residue issues are rare with bamboo diapers compared to microfiber.
Not so good points:
    Bamboo diapers and inserts are usually more expensive than cotton and microfiber.  Although it's a durable fabric, it's still not AS durable as cotton or microfiber and therefore might not last as long.


Some awesome bamboo products!

• Mother-Ease Sandy's bamboo fitteds (my night-time go-to! LOVE!)
• Blueberry Bamboo Deluxe pocket diapers (adorable and absorbent!)
• AMP bamboo inserts (great alternative to microfiber for pockets)

So that's the scoop on bamboo!