Bamboo Socks vs Cotton Socks

It goes without saying that your socks should be one of the most important considerations when examining your foot health.

But there is appears to be one consistently reoccurring question – should you get socks made of bamboo or cotton?

Both are really common fibres that are used in a variety of clothing and fabric products. And quite often are both viewed as natural, easy to use fibres.

However, when we get down to the actual properties of each of the fibres, specifically the influence on temperature regulation, ventilation and softness, there are major differences.

Taking all this into consideration, let's get down to explaining the properties of these fibre and characteristics help decide and differentiate Bamboo vs Cotton.

So what are Cotton & Bamboo?

Cotton 

Cotton originates from a shrub, most native to areas in the tropical and subtropical climate.

Cotton shrubs produces a boll, which is actually classified as a fruit.

To extract the cotton fibre the boll’s harder protective case is broken and the cotton fibre is found enclosed.

This fibre can then be spun into thread or yarn and made into materials and fabrics and is one of the more widely used materials throughout the world.

Bamboo

Bamboo however is a member of the grass family, naitve to pretty much every country in the world.

This is due to its ability to survive in almost any climate.

The bamboo is broken up, dissolved and then pressed into fibres to be spun into yarn. It is this process and the natural sporelss fibres that creates it’s incredibly soft feel and comfort. 

The Benefits of Fresh Feet Sock Co

PROS & CONS OF COTTON

Although cotton has been the fibre of choice for some time for a lot of materials and clothing, there are quite a few negatives surrounding its use.

The main revolving around the environmental impacts involved in the growing of the fibre due to the need for heavy pesticide use & water irrigation. Further impacting this is the lack of durability of the fibre.

Unfortunately a lot of these negatives have been outweighed by the easy and inexpensive to manufacture the fibre.

PROS & CONS OF BAMBOO

Just like cotton, there are positives and negatives surrounding bamboo.

However, a majority of the pros are around the environmental sustainability of the fibre and its long-lasting nature. This creates an eco-friendly, durable and comfortable material.

Whereas it’s cons are more so surrounding the expense of manufacturing. This positioning it as a more sustainable and comfortable material that is slightly more cost.

As we can see from the above Bamboo is presenting a definitive case for becoming the fibre of choice for material now and into the future.

Previously, manufacturing abilities impeded the selection and choice of fibres in which material could be made from, but now with progression of manufacturing techniques there are more appropriate, sustainable and better choices available.

Many brands still choose cotton as their fabric of choice, and this may be due to the slightly easier and cheaper manufacturing.

However it is becoming abundantly clear that bamboo is a more sustainable, durable and comfortable option and why we choose to use bamboo as our fibre of choice.

Although for now, there may be more expense and challenge in the manufacturing of bamboo, we see this as a small price to pay for an all round better and more sustainable product.

So why pay more for an inferior fibre that has a negative impact on our environment?

We don’t understand either. 

Why not try our Fresh Feet Sock Co bamboo socks risk free?

We are sure that once you try the comfort and freedom you’ll never go back.

The choice for our Planet, Why Bamboo Socks?

We love bamboo. Why?

Well where do we begin?

Not only are our Fresh Feet bamboo socks guaranteed to be comfortable, as well as help provide a fresh and free environment from hot, sweaty, smelly feet; they were also created from a sustainable fibre to help protect our planet.

That’s right, not only do our bamboo socks love looking after your feet, they also love helping to preserve our world.

No Pesticides, Fertilisers or Insecticides

Bamboo naturally requires no pesticides, fertilisers or insecticides to grow.

Bamboo plant's are naturally antifungal and antimicrobial. These properties create an environment which allows bamboo to be able to deter insects and grow naturally.

Meaning our bamboo socks require none of these potentially nasty additions.

Naturally Regenerative

The bamboo plant is the fastest growing wood based plant in the world! Yep, It even has a Guinness world record to prove it.

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Once the plant is developed, bamboo shoots are formed year after year, making it naturally regenerating and able to be harvested constantly without interference intensive farming practises.

We like to think of this as if our bamboo socks are grown straight out of the ground!

Absorbs Carbon Dioxide from the Air

Bamboo plantations have the amazing ability to help reduce the environmental impact of greenhouses gases.

Bamboo does this through its ability to create almost ⅓ more oxygen than equivalent trees and plants whilst simultaneously absorbing Carbon dioxide from the air. How amazing is that!

Requires less Water

Amazingly bamboo plans are incredibly hardy and resilient. They are able to thrive in a variety of conditions and environments.

The main reason for bamboo's resilient nature is the water efficient growth properties. Bamboo plants require 1/3 the amount of water to grow in comparison to similar material based plants such as cotton.

Meaning that the same amount of water used to grow 1 cotton plant can be used to grow 3 plants of bamboo.

This is huge! Especially in a world where water is becoming one of the planets most scarce resources.

💦🌱💧🌎

It is due to these amazing characteristics of Bamboo that we like to think of bamboo socks as the eco-friendly alternative fibre.

And when you pair this with our 100% compostable packaging, silky soft feel and amazing breathe-ability it’s no wonder why we love our bamboo socks so much!

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Citation:

Afrin, T., Kanwar, R. K., Wang, X., & Tsuzuki, T. (2014). Properties of bamboo fibres produced using an environmentally benign method. The Journal of The Textile Institute, 105(12), 1293-1299.

Afrin, T., Tsuzuki, T., & Wang, X. (2009, January). Bamboo fibres and their unique properties. In Natural fibres in Australasia: proceedings of the combined (NZ and AUS) Conference of The Textile Institute, Dunedin 15-17 April 2009(pp. 77-82). Textile Institute (NZ).

Khalil, H. A., Bhat, I. U. H., Jawaid, M., Zaidon, A., Hermawan, D., & Hadi, Y. S. (2012). Bamboo fibre reinforced biocomposites: A review. Materials & Design, 42, 353-368.

Vogtländer, J., Van der Lugt, P., & Brezet, H. (2010). The sustainability of bamboo products for local and Western European applications. LCAs and land-use. Journal of Cleaner Production, 18(13), 1260-1269.

Are Bamboo Socks Good?

It’s a simple question we get asked a lot, but are bamboo socks good?

Well of course we are going to say they are. But don't just believe us. Let’s see what characteristics makes bamboo socks so good.

Thermoregulating

Bamboo socks provided a thermoregulating environment. 

What this means is that bamboo fibre naturally has the ability to act as an insulator to keep in heat and maintain temperature, just like a warm hug.

They also have the ability to breath and absorb moisture allowing for a cooling effect.

Start Soft, but gets Softer

Bamboo socks are so soft, yet get softer with wear and wash them.

An amazing feature that makes bamboo socks good, is the softness and comfort that is created through bamboo viscose.

Bamboo fabric naturally has no thread ends or spores. This means that they never develop a rough texture like other fabrics, due to the fact the viscose fibres don't split or pill.

Because of this, no thread is ever lost and continues to get softer in their fullness with wear and wash.

Ultimately meaning that you feet can wave goodbye to rubbing, irritation and friction.

Breathable & Moisture Wicking

Bamboo socks help keep feet dry.

Thanks to the natural construction of bamboo viscose, the fibre is super absorbent.

The bamboo material and fabric within the sock therefore wicks moisture and sweat away from the feet and skin. Leaving your feet dry and feeling fresh.

This is a major benefit of bamboo fibre in comparison to other fibres such as cotton and wool, which can leave moisture on the skin.

Odour Resistant

Bamboo socks help eliminate odours.

We believe that this alone makes bamboo socks so good.

Bamboo fibres are naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial.

It has actually been found that over 70% of odour-creating bacteria introduced to bamboo fabric was eliminated.

This decreases dramatically the likelihood of fungal and odour creating bacteria to be able to survive on the skin's surface, leaving your feet fresh, free and odourless. 

And these are just a start.

We have also detailed more of these benefits here to help outline why our fresh feet sock co bamboo socks are so good.

Still don’t believe us that bamboo socks are good, take advantage of our Comfort Guarantee and try your first pair risk free!