Review: Eco-Fabrik Bamboo Apparel

Eco-Fabrik Bamboo Polo is the Softest
Who would have thought that something so hard like Bamboo would make such a soft shirt material.  I’ve walked on bamboo floors and they are some of the hardest and most durable floors you can install.  I’ve seen bamboo plants in the wild and tried breaking their stalks and found it very rigid.  So it comes as a surprise that bamboo apparel is the softest fabric I’ve worn.  Whatever they do to separate the strands and weave it into material makes for an amazingly luxurious soft feel.
Beyond the soft feel of bamboo apparel, Eco-Fabrik believes in the sustainability and earth friendly production of bamboo fabric.  Regular cotton and tech fabrics are much harder on the environment and take a great deal more water and natural resources to produce.  This environmental concern is much of what drives Eco-Fabrik to produce their bamboo apparel line.

The Eco-Fabrik bamboo polo looks like any other standard polo.  It doesn’t stand out in a crowd and shout “I’m wearing bamboo!”, rather it blends in nicely with other fabrics and brands.  They did put a larger golfer logo on the shirt to designate that this is a golf polo, but to someone else, they think you have a regular polo shirt on.  Eco-Fabrik only offer them in a handful of colors at this time and all are very traditional conservative colors.  The four color options are simple yet nice.  They also have a couple contrast color collared shirts that still fall into a very conservative range.

On the course, bamboo offers great breathability and moisture wicking properties.  It is kind of like the best of both worlds.  The feel, look, and airflow of cotton, yet the lightweight, moisture wicking of tech fabric.  I was pretty impressed with the function of this shirt in the heat while I was golfing.

The cut of the Eco Fabrik polo is a nice athletic cut that fit closer to the body.  I liked the shorter sleeves and narrower cut in the body, it looks really good and feels better when playing golf instead of feeling like your wearing a sail.  But it didn’t feel like a sausage casing either, it is just how a shirt should fit, tight enough to look good, but loose enough to allow movement.  I typically wear a M in most bands and the Eco-Fabrik M fit just like it should.

Obviously where this shirt shines is to the touch.  It has a cotton look, but a silky smooth feel.  It really is impressive.  What I liked even better, is that after the 5th wash it still was super soft and hadn’t lost its shape.  I’ve had cotton and tech fabrics that felt great the first time you wear them, not so much after they are washed.  My only suggestion is to follow the washing instruction, or should I say, drying instructions.  The first time my wife just washed it and dried it like most of our laundry, and the collar and shirt were really wrinkled.  Then we read the instruction and they want you to hang it to dry it.  That works so much better.  The collar stays looking like it should and the wrinkles disappear.

Eco-Fabrik also makes golf towels.  They are, you guessed it, super soft.  They look like a bathroom towel with a grommet in the corner, but it works.  While sometimes that towel is used to wipe dirt off your clubs, other times you want to wipe your face or your glasses to the softness is really nice.  I didn’t get mine dirty enough to wash it yet, but I assume if it is anything like the shirts, it will remain soft for many washes.

Eco-Fabrik makes a super soft bamboo polo shirts and towels.  If you want to buy an earth friendly shirt at a really reasonable price, this is the brand for you.  While they might not offer all the color choices you are looking for, you won’t find a softer golf shirt anywhere else. 

For more information: www.ecofabrik.com

Quick Hits:
+Super soft
+Nice athletic golf cut
+Both cotton and tech fabric benefits
+Environmentally friendly

–Limit color and style options

If you’d like to win a his and hers Eco-Fabrik Polo shirts and towels go to this months giveaway here!!