Ensuring safe viscose production has been one of our highest priorities
BAM is a pioneering eco-conscious clothing brand founded in 2006 by David Gordon, with the mission to create a positive impact on both people and the planet. Rooted in sustainability, the brand is committed to becoming Impact Positive by 2030, focusing on ethical practices and innovative eco-friendly fabrics like bamboo. Speaking to Fibre2Fashion, Sustainability & Technical Manager Merryn Chilcott discusses bamboo fabric and clothing and the company’s circular design approach.
What trends are currently shaping the bamboo clothing industry, and how do you see these trends evolving in the near future?
Next-generation materials and fibres, such as those made from recycled or waste products, are gaining prominence. Man-made cellulosic fibres (MMCFs) sourced from next-generation materials like end-of-life clothing and agricultural waste are emerging as one of the more sustainable, low-impact solutions. Bamboo is increasingly viewed as a 'transitional’ material—superior to hardwood trees but not as advanced as these next-gen materials. Given that next-generation fibres are unlikely to completely replace virgin raw materials anytime soon, bamboo will continue to have a role in a more sustainable industry going forward.
In your opinion, what are the most significant steps individuals and businesses can take to promote sustainable clothing practices on a global scale?
Durability – businesses creating better products that people fall in love with and want to care for, repair and pass on.
Decoupling growth from impact – businesses finding ways to grow and be profitable that do not involve just endlessly making more stuff!
Circularity – for businesses, enabling products to be used for longer is crucial but ultimately, making materials and products circular is the only way we will truly reduce our impact and our reliance on precious natural resources.
For the circular economy to become a reality, citizen behaviour has big part to play. Changing the way individuals value clothes is key – and that is another reason why transparency is so important. With our DNA pages, we hope that once people see just how much goes into creating a piece of clothing, they will see more value in every item.
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the establishment of BAM and its journey from inception to where it is today?
BAM is an ambitious, e-commerce business offering a genuine alternative to conventional active wear. Now a certified B-Corp and an accredited living wage employer, the company was set up in 2006 by David Gordon who wanted to prove that a sustainable business could be commercially successful. Identifying bamboo as one of the planet’s most sustainable crops, which could be made into supersoft performance fabrics, inspired him to create BAM, the first bamboo clothing company in Europe.
In recent years, we have won awards for our circular product development and nature-based fabric innovations. We craft supremely soft products that prioritise function and quality, whilst staying true to our core values of treating people and the planet with respect.
What steps has BAM taken to ensure transparency and traceability in its supply chain, from raw materials to the finished product?
Once we started to measure our impact, we began to understand that by far, the largest portion of it came from our materials, fibre and fabric manufacturing. In order to begin to address these impacts, we would need to know where they were coming from. In this industry, it very common for a brand to only have a direct relationship with the garment factory (tier 1).
We believe transparency is key to real accountability and change in this industry. We started mapping our supply chain beyond tier one five years ago and we are now able to share what we know (where there are gaps, we will be honest about them, and tell you what we are doing about it). This has led to us launching BAM DNA as a pilot in 2022 and now across our entire range. By scanning the QR code on care label, one can find out everything there is to know about how their clothing was made.
Traceability is an ongoing and complex task as supply chains and product ranges are ever evolving, but we have now achieved 86 per cent visibility from garment factory to fibre production. (100 per cent tier 1, 99 per cent tier 2, 81 per cent tier 3, 71 per cent tier 4). We have also mapped our bamboo and cotton back to raw material source (at province level, not exact farm location) which together account for over 80 per cent of our fibre usage. We have achieved a lot, but there are still some big challenges ahead. One is ensuring that every single link in the chain or every transaction is verified. Then, we have to work out how to influence and encourage suppliers throughout the chain to make improvements in their processes and reduce their impacts – not easy for a small business like us!
Can you explain the technical aspects of the bamboo fabric manufacturing process, highlighting its benefits over traditional materials?
Bamboo is an amazing raw material when you look at its impacts on the climate, biodiversity, water use, land use and pesticides. Here are some of the reasons we love it:
1. It grows incredibly quickly, sequestering carbon as it grows (around two thirds of which are stored in the roots and soil).
2. Its rapid regeneration means it can be harvested annually, and its high yield means less land is needed to produce the same amount of material (compared with hardwood trees and cotton).
3. It can be harvested without disturbing root systems (unlike hardwood trees and cotton), meaning the carbon and biodiversity stored in the roots and soil is protected. One of the problems with modern agriculture is the degradation of soil health over time. Bamboo not only avoids this problem, but it can actually help to regenerate damaged soil.
4. It requires little to no irrigation or pesticides to thrive.
Bamboo can be mechanically processed into a linen-like fibre, but this is quite rare. Most of the bamboo-based fibres you see on the market are MMCFs. This is the name for a group of fibres (including viscose, lyocell and modal) that are made from natural, cellulosic materials and transformed into fibres using a chemical process.
The fibres have lower impact than conventional cotton and polyester when you look at the life cycle of the fibre, being both nature-based and biodegradable, but the processing does require potentially hazardous chemicals and can be quite energy and water intensive. Safe chemical management and waste treatment must be prioritised and monitored carefully. In order to do this, brands need to know where their fibres are being produced, so mapping the supply chain is the first step.
Ensuring safe viscose production has been one of our highest priorities for many years. The bamboo-based MMCFs in our products are sourced from two nominated producers. Ranked joint 3rd best on the Canopy Hot Button Index, both have achieved level 3 (the highest) OEKO-TEX STeP certification and are engaged with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Foundation MMCF module.
Could you share some insights into your circular design approach and the 73 Zero range?
BAM has recognised that transitioning towards a fully circular range will be necessary if we are to truly protect the planet’s natural resources, biodiversity, and climate. At present, around 73 per cent of clothing ends up in landfill or incinerated. We want to get that to zero.
That is why in 2021, we launched our award-winning 73 Zero Jacket, developed in collaboration with a textile recycler. Since then, we have expanded our 73 Zero circular range to include more outerwear, fleece, knitwear and denim – all made with lower impact materials and processes, certified recyclable by the Circular Textiles Foundation and offered with a free take-back scheme.
Our 73 Zero collection will account for 10 per cent of our Spring/Summer 2024 collection. We are aiming for 25 per cent by Autumn/Winter 2025.
How do you plan on engaging customers with your digital product passports?
Our BAM DNA digital passports have just gone live across our entire product range which we are very excited about and proud of! Customers can access them via the QR codes which are already on the vast majority of our products on the care labels. We will also be linking the pages to the website soon so that people can check the product DNA out before they buy.
In addition to sharing information on the materials, supply chain and environmental impact of the item, we are also sharing ways that the customer can reduce the impact of their garment by keeping it in use for longer. We provide tips on care and repair, details about our partnerships with resale platform Continue and clothing charity Sharewear, as well as how to use our 73 Zero take back scheme for recycling.
Can you explain the significance of being a member of the ZDHC Foundation and how it contributes to your commitment to sustainable chemical management?
Safe chemical management and waste treatment is an important topic throughout textile supply chains. It impacts fabric dyeing and finishing all the way to fibre and raw material production.
The Roadmap to Zero Programme, by ZDHC Foundation, is leading the fashion industry to eliminate harmful chemicals from its supply chain by building the foundation for more sustainable manufacturing to protect workers, consumers and our planet’s ecosystems.
We became signatories in 2020 and have been using the ZDHC tools and resources to monitor the wet processors (suppliers who use chemicals and water in their processes) in our supply chain and encourage them to engage in the ‘Roadmap to Zero’ programme.
Your company is committed to becoming Impact Positive by 2030. Could you elaborate on the initiatives you are undertaking to achieve this?
Our ultimate goal is to have a net positive impact, on people, nature and the climate. We are doing everything we can to achieve this by 2030. These are ambitious goals. We call them BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals) and yes, we do not know exactly how we will achieve them all yet, but we truly believe this is what a sustainable clothing brand should look like, and BHAGs inspire us to keep pushing forward.
