The latest in fashion: bamboo

Bamboo? Who knew?

Well, consumers in Asia did, and probably plenty of fashion-conscious shoppers in America knew all about the benefits of bamboo fabric, but I sure didn't. Clothes made out of bamboo are supposedly environmentally friendly because its one of the fastest growing plants, and you don't need pesticides to grow it in the way that you do when you're farming, say, cotton. There's also an alleged benefit to bamboo-made clothing because bamboo is known for having anti-bacterial properties.

But there have been some drawbacks, such as the sun's ultraviolet rays being able to go right through the clothing. You can wear bamboo and apparently still get a sunburn.