If we give you a choice to only wear one outfit every day for an entire trip, what would it be? This is the question for you to ponder before leaving the house for your Traveleisure or Travel + Leisure activities.
Whether you are going for food hunting in Penang, a long journey from Johor to Perlis, hiking up Bukit Broga, or just a simple walk around the Titiwangsa Lake, comfort is the utmost important thing to think about before reaching your wardrobe.
We at Snurck believe versatile and performance clothing should be set as a priority as your go-to outfits. This gives you the extra advantage to protect yourself from any uncomfortable feeling that leads to a bad experience for your Traveleisure activities.
We have our strongest faith in clothing made from Bamboo, which is super versatile by its nature to provide all the comfort that you need. So you can focus on what matters — living the lifestyle of freedom.
This article will discuss how and why Bamboo outfits are the perfect choice as a travel outfit, especially in Malaysia, where the weather is hot and humid all year round.
Facts About Bamboo
Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing trees on the planet which according to the Guinness Book of World’s Records:
“The world record for the fastest growing plant belongs to certain species of the 45 genera of Bamboo, which have been found to grow at up to 91 cm (35 in) per day or at a rate of 0.00003 km/h (0.00002 mph).
According to the RHS Dictionary of Gardening, there are approximately 1,000 species of bamboos. The tallest recorded in the tropics was reportedly 40 m (130 ft), in Europe and the USA 20-30 m (65-98 ft) has been the tallest.”
With thousands of species worldwide, no doubt Bamboo has been recently acknowledged as an eco-friendly resource.
At Snurck, our featured and best-selling outfits are composed of bamboo blends. We will further discuss how Bamboo plays its role in sustainability while producing versatile outfits for your travel and leisure wear.
Here are some of the resources that you may check for the incredible bamboo features.
The bamboo plant as a resource is available in plenty and plays a great role in socio-economic development (Panda 2011; Yeasmin et al. 2015). It is fast-growing (Devi et al. 2007; Rodie 2008; Nieder 2009; Hardin et al. 2009), and most of it is grown organically (though very little is certified organic), and it has been claimed that growing bamboo usually requires no pesticides and fertilizers (Devi et al. 2007; Rodie 2008; Nieder 2009; Hardin et al. 2009; Yueping et al. 2010), i.e., naturally organic. Bamboo textiles are fashionably chic, soft, cool, breathable, and light (Textile Digest 2009; Hardin et al. 2009; About Mechanically Processed Bamboo http://www.getgloved.com).
What Is Bamboo Fabric?
In the clothing industry, the word “bamboo fabric” refers to clothing material made from the bamboo plant. Speaking outside of the fashion world, Bamboo has been widely used for various functions due to its versatility and durability.
In Asia, Bamboo was originally utilized to manufacture paper products. In Malaysia specifically, Bamboo has been widely utilized as a supporting construction materials. Apart from that, the Malaysian food industry has also benefited from Bamboo’s usage (not to forget our infamous “lemang” cuisine).
Taking a step back, Bamboo has actually been used for thousands of years for different uses all over the globe. For the clothing industry, Bamboo usage as a clothing material was initially founded by one of the universities in China back in early 2000.
According to the information obtained from the website ‘ehow.com,’ Beijing University is accredited for developing the first modern bamboo textile process. However, it is likely that several manufacturers too discovered the method nearly the same time, in the early 2000s.
Bamboo technology is relatively new compared to cotton; hence the adoption in the clothing industry is still progressively catching up, especially in Malaysia. We at Snurck believe that Bamboo fabric gives tonnes of advantages over normal cotton apparel, which we will discuss further in this article.
How Are Bamboo Fabrics Made?
Depending on what type of bamboo pulp is, different species could be made through different methods.
However, the majority of outfits made from Bamboo were made from bamboo viscose. The process of converting bamboo viscose into an actual bamboo fabric involves lengthy procedures and manufacturing refinements.
A simple yet more expensive solution is via the spinning technique, which is how our Bamboo T-Shirt at Snurck was made. This technique gives the fabric a more silky-luxurious feeling on the final product.
The manufacturing procedure starts with harvesting the Bamboo and crushing it to extract the bamboo cellulose. The crushed Bamboo is then soaked into an enzyme solution to separate the fibrous materials. Once they are fully separated, the bamboo fibers are then combed out and then spun into yarns.
The result is an ultra-soft fabric that could produce more delicate clothing such as shirts, dresses, and many more.
Why Bamboo: Benefit of the Bamboo Fabric as a Travel Outfit
Ultra-Soft
We dare enough to say that bamboo fabric has a similar feel to the softness of silk. Since bamboo fabrics are mostly produced without harsh chemicals, they are naturally smoother and soft to the skin.
In fact, bamboo fabric is known to be hypoallergenic, making it an excellent clothing material for those with high skin sensitivity or eczema allergies.
Odor-Free
One of the known criteria in Bamboo clothing is its anti-bacterial properties. At Snurck, our featured Bamboo T-Shirt contains:
- The anti-bacterial property.
- Making it resistant to odors.
- Especially bad odors from our own sweat.
“Bamboo Kun” is one of the anti-bacterial bio-agent that gives Bamboo fabrics the property to naturally fight bad odors. Essentially, it kills the bacteria that accumulate on the skin, which makes you feel fresher and free from odor throughout the day.
Sweat-Free
Unlike most of the clothing fibers out there, Bamboo clothing is extremely breathable. Micro-gaps between the bamboo fiber give the fabric an exceptional level of moisture absorption and ventilation. The high breathability means the Bamboo fabric could extract out moisture (the sweat) fast and keep you dry, cool, and comfortable the whole time.
Eco-Friendly
Not to forget, the sustainability of Bamboo makes this fiber stand out among its competitors. As we have mentioned early in this article, Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world. This makes it faster and easier to replenish as compared to other resources like cotton. Faster replenishments mean less water and other resources being used to grow the plant. Bamboo can naturally grow without pesticides which makes it more naturally safe and chemically free.
In summary, the benefits of Bamboo are:
- Silky-smooth: Stay comfortable and cozy
- Anti-Bacterial: Keeps you free from odor and feel fresh all day long
- Breathable: Perfect for hot and humid climates like in Malaysia. Naturally draws moisture (sweat) away from your skin and keeps you cool all the time.
- Hypoallergenic: The smooth fabrics ensure people with eczema are safe to wear the outfit. Perfect for those with sensitive skin.
- Eco-friendly: The growth of the bamboo plant and manufacturing methods used are naturally sustainable, and less waste produced
Bamboo Fibre Perfect For Hot & Humid Climate
At Snurck, we believe Malaysians deserve the perfect clothing to be used specifically for travel and leisure activities. The hot and humid weather makes certain types of clothing material unsuitable for these kinds of activities.
One of the most important properties you need to gain the best travel and leisure experience is to be comfortable the whole time, even if the weather is not as perfect as you’d imagine. You can’t change the weather, but you change the way you dress.
Without comfort, it will destroy the whole experience of travel and leisure with your friends or families. Imagine that you are going for a 1-day trip but just for a few hours walk, your outfit unable to take any more sweat and start to stink.
Two main factors affect comfort during your travel and leisure activities:
- The softness of the outfit
- The ability to prevent/minimize sweat
Softness of Outfit
The softness of the outfit gives the wearer a cozy feeling and prevents any itches on the body. In turn, it brings out a positive mood.
It allows the wearer to focus on things that matter the most – to get the best experience in their travel or leisure activities.
Softness to the skin means you won’t be able to fill the friction between your shirt and your skin; some even regard it as “the feeling like you’re not wearing anything.”
Prevent/Minimize Sweat
The second way to obtain comfort is through preventing or minimizing sweat. Which is preventing the secretion of sweat or preventing the sweat from staying on the skin for a long period.
Sweat that stays on the skin for a long duration will make the skin sticky; hence, the uncomfortable feeling will start to rise.
Having your travel and leisure activities while your body feels sticky is the worst way of getting the best experience out of them.
Nevertheless, no matter how breathable your outfit is, bacteria from the sweat will still form and accumulate if you don’t get your shower for a long period (this is normal during traveling).
The accumulation of bacteria will discrete unpleasant smells (or bad body odor), which gives you the uncomfortable feeling that you don’t want.
There Is No Escape
As Malaysians, we definitely cannot escape from the hot and humid weather. The only way is to change the way we dress and to live with the heat. To ensure you get the best experience of traveling or having leisure activities with your friends and family, being comfortable is the key.
Therefore at Snurck, we believe that Bamboo fabrics give the ultimate comfort for the wearer as the specific properties of Bamboo fibers give it competitive advantages compared to other fabrics, including cotton.
The silky-smooth structure of the Bamboo fabric ensures the wearer feels cozy the whole time. While the anti-bacterial and breathable properties prevent bad odors and keep fresh all day long.
If you’re thinking of trying one of our t-shirts, grab it here as stocks are actually limited!
Bamboo versus Cotton: What’s The Difference?
Softness
Generally, Bamboo is softer than ‘normal’ cotton. When we say normal, we mean cotton outfits that are generally being sold at the market.
However, higher-grade cotton (which is extremely expensive) could have similar softness or be softer than what Bamboo fabric offers.
Nevertheless, Bamboo fabric gives an extra luxurious feeling when it touches the skin. Only those who wear it will feel the difference between normal cotton. Trust us on this!
Cooling Power
Bamboo is 40% more water-absorbent than most cotton types, wick away moisture (the sweat) much faster. Keeping you dry, cool, and comfortable the whole time.
Very useful if you are traveling and having leisure time in the Malaysian climate, you don’t have to walk around feeling sticky and sweaty the whole time.
Odor-Free
One of the pure advantages of Bamboo fiber compared to cotton is the ability to kill bacterias from the sweat. The accumulation of these bacterias will form bad odors from the sweat on your skin. Which leads to an uneasy (and embarrassing) feeling to people around you.
This is where the anti-bacterial property in Bamboo fiber plays a major role in preventing bad odors.
The presence of “Bamboo Kun” that we have mentioned earlier makes the fabric naturally kill the odor-forming bacteria and prevent bad odors from coming out from your body. Keeping you fresh, confident, and able to experience to the fullest out of your traveling and leisure activities.
Sustainability
Bamboo generally uses ⅓ lesser water to grow as compared to cotton. This is crucial because the water supply in farms is limited, and most farmers don’t have sufficient water supply to grow their crops properly. Bamboo is a naturally self-sufficient crop that uses water more efficiently than cotton or even other trees.
Apart from that, Scientific American reported that “bamboo can be cultivated with little to no fertilizer, pesticides, heavy harvesting machinery or irrigation, and bamboo root systems can protect steep banks from erosion.”
Hence, bamboo fiber is naturally safe and chemical-free as compared to cotton.
Price
Even with the high growth rate and the sustainability of Bamboo, the price is much higher than normal cotton mainly due to its supply and production cost.
Generally, making Bamboo outfits is x3 to x4 times the cost to make a cotton outfit.
As we have mentioned earlier, the method used in producing Bamboo yarns to make the fabric takes a lengthy process to produce such fine and high-quality fabric.
In addition, cotton production is taking advantage of economies of scale. This means the high production number pushes the cost down for most of the cotton-made products. Unlike cotton, Bamboo is relatively new in the textile industry and has been demanded from the big players in the industry; hence the cost of production is relatively higher.
That is why it is very difficult to compare apple-to-apple when judging the price and the ultimate value that it provides. We believe that the Bamboo fabric’s tremendous advantages provide the best value to the wearer, especially those who live in a hot and humid country.
Conclusion
Both Bamboo and cotton play a major role and bring different advantageous values to the wearer.
Generally, we believe that Bamboo fibers play an important role in giving the wearer an ultra-comfort experience on their travels and leisure activities, mainly due to its advantageous properties over normal cotton.
It is silky-soft, anti-bacterial, ultra-breathable, and sustainable. Perfect wear for travel and leisure purposes.