Jane Powerson bamboo.
Let us celebrate bamboo. It is a truly versatile plant. Not only is it a fine garden ornamental and a tasty edible, but it also provides the raw materials for scaffolding, chopsticks, food steamers, knitting needles, musical instruments, mats, basketry, paper, furniture, flooring, underpants . . .
Hold on a minute. Did someone say underpants? Yes, actually. Bamboo has given us a new clothing material that's silky soft and breathable, which makes it extra comfortable to wear next to your skin. I haven't got hold of any bamboo knickers myself yet, but I have fondled some baby blankets and nappies (at Ecoshop in Glen of the Downs, Co Wicklow; www.ecoshop.ie) and they are swoon-makingly soft.
Bamboo is more absorbent than cotton and is naturally antibacterial and antifungal, even after many washes, so it's perfect for baby gear, as well as for socks and undergarments (the latter available from www.figleaves.com). It also excludes more ultraviolet light than other lightweight fabrics, which together with its breathability and moisture-wicking capabilities makes it a candidate for clothing in hot and humid climates. Chinese purveyors of bamboo fabrics claim that it can lower body temperature by one or two degrees.
The material's enduring antimicrobial properties have led researchers at the PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore, India, to make surgical gowns from it.
Bamboo's resistance to the nastier things in life includes pests and diseases during its cultivation, which means that no pesticides or fungicides are needed; it is also possible to cultivate it without chemical fertilisers.
As it is a perennial crop it doesn't require carbon-intensive ploughing and planting each year. It is the fastest-growing woody plant on the planet - and is, in fact, a member of the grass family. It grows back to harvestable size after three to five years (much faster than trees) and is very efficient at absorbing carbon dioxide. It gives a better income to farmers than many other crops and is cleaner and more sustainable than most.
Bamboo textile is what is known as a "regenerated cellulose fibre", a kind of viscose (which is more normally made from wood). The bamboo is pulped, processed both mechanically and with chemicals, and eventually extruded into fine fibres and spun. In other words, it's a man-made, but not synthetic, material.
When you've grown tired of your "boo" undies or socks (or they've grown tired of you) you can fling them on to the compost heap.