Design Criteria

BAMbu aims to create a product that fulfills the needs of the consumer in the most sustainable manner possible. Making the most unique and finest in quality graphic tees, our goal is to provide apparel that is eco-friendly, simplistic and allows the consumer be involved in the design of the apparel. What will make us stand out from other apparel companies is our sourcing of sustainable materials and production. Our sourcing of bamboo fabric will generate a superb product that will outlast the cotton products out in the market today. The simplistic nature of design will allow the user to reuse and recreate the garment in a unique fashion after much use. And most importantly, with the current situation in the US economy, all production, with the exclusion of material sourcing, will be done domestically. We want to create an outstanding product and be proud it was made in the US.

Eco Friendly

Our products will only be made of rayon from bamboo; we will not use any cotton products. The reason why we choose bamboo as the source of fibers is because of its sustainable features:

   - faster growing rates than cotton
   - the nonuse of pesticides
   - fabric output is softer than cotton
   - antibacterial properties that cotton doesn't provide

If any trims are to be used, they will be made of recycled polyester.

Simplicity

The design should be unique through the graphic and not through unnecessary trim or dyeing. Simplistic construction of tees allows the most efficient use of fabric which minimizes fabric waste. Colors of the design should be kept at a minimum with a standard of 2 with a max of 4 to limit the waste of water and toxic affects of the dye. We do not want to create gaudy designs that use a lot of dye. We also want to keep the design simple so in the future, the tee can be reusable by means of incorporating a new graphic design. Also with the simplistic construction of the tee, this enables the consumer to reuse it in the future by adding other features such as sleeves and/or hoods. Aesthetically, we believe that by keeping the designs simple, the graphic/statements will stand out more and be more noticeable.

User Participation

BAMbu will not be design exclusive. Meaning, we do not want the customer to feel they have limited options to designs. We want the customer to have participation in the production of their apparel. They should be able to have a choice of a custom design on their tees. However, their designs become our property but an incentive to them of creating their own design is an additional 2% of the profits made from their tees, will be donated to an organization that supports the use of green materials. Of course, we will limit them to the amount of colors they may use but even though we specialize in bamboo materials, we will offer the choice to use other sustainable materials as well, such as organic fabric or hemp.

Reusable

One of the best features of our tees will it be reusable. With the tees being made of rayon from bamboo, the quality of the tee will be superb so these tees should have great endurance; at least 2 years. After that time, we will provide a service to our customers for any tee they have purchased, that if they send it in to us, we will place a new graphic design to make it "new" again. By request and at extra cost, they can have sleeves or a hood added to the tee as well. An additional service would be to deconstruct the tee. We would be able to make it into a tank, a scarf, or even a small bag.

Domestic Production

With the current recession, we want to promote domestic production. Even though the costs of labor would be greater than the costs of overseas production, there are benefits to having domestic production:

   - minimize carbon footprint; shipping by land than by sea or air
   - shipping rates will become cheaper
   - able to monitor production facility (safety codes, facility upkeep, labor fairness) much
   more easier
   - faster overturn. Products are in customers possession sooner