US Bamboo Fabric Labeling Rules
Can I label my fabric as bamboo in the US?
Only if the fabric is made directly of actual bamboo fiber. Most "bamboo" fabric sold in the US is rayon (viscose) made from bamboo pulp. For that fabric the FTC says the label and ads must name the fiber as rayon or viscose, for example "rayon made from bamboo" or "viscose made from bamboo." A plain "bamboo" label is not allowed.
Approach: I searched the current Textile Rules (16 CFR Part 303) and the FTC Green Guides (16 CFR Part 260). Neither uses the word "bamboo" in its fiber rules, so I also read the FTC's own pages on bamboo textiles.
What the regulations say
- You must use the generic fiber name. Every fiber that makes up 5% or more of the fabric by weight has to be shown by its generic name, such as "cotton" or "rayon" [1].
- Bamboo-based viscose counts as rayon. Rayon is defined as "a manufactured fiber composed of regenerated cellulose." If the cellulose is dissolved in an organic solvent without being chemically modified along the way, it may be called "lyocell" instead [2]. Which name applies depends on how your supplier made the fiber.
- You can describe the fiber, but only next to its generic name. Truthful, non-deceptive descriptive terms may be used together with the generic name, as in "cross-linked rayon" [3][4]. That is the legal basis for "rayon made from bamboo."
- You can't name a fiber that isn't there. Words, coined words, symbols or pictures that name or suggest a fiber not present in the product are banned. So are names that sound like it or are spelled slightly differently [5].
- Extra wording on labels, hang-tags and ads is covered too. Optional text must not mislead about fiber content or suggest the product contains a fiber it doesn't [6][7]. Online ad terms that suggest a fiber count as fiber content claims [8].
- A "100%" claim has no margin. For blends, stated percentages may be off by up to 3% of total fiber weight [9]. That allowance does not apply when you claim the product is made wholly of one fiber [10].
What the FTC says
- FTC, "bamboo textiles": "Textiles can only be called bamboo if they are made directly from actual bamboo fiber." Rayon or viscose made from bamboo "may be labeled and advertised as 'rayon (or viscose) made from bamboo.'" Sellers are responsible for labeling and advertising their textiles correctly.
- FTC Business Blog, "Bamboo snafu": making rayon, "even when it's made from bamboo," is "far from a 'green' process." You can't market it as eco-friendly just because the raw material is bamboo. A "good faith" guarantee from a US supplier normally protects you, but not if you got an FTC warning letter or should have known the goods were mislabeled.
- Environmental claims. The Green Guides use "made from 100 percent bamboo, which grows at the same rate, or faster, than we use it" as an example of a properly qualified renewable-materials claim. The seller still has to back up every other claim the wording implies [11]. That example is about flooring, and the Green Guides are FTC guidance, not binding rules.
- Enforcement. In December 2015, Bed Bath & Beyond, Nordstrom, J.C. Penney and Backcountry.com paid civil penalties totaling $1.3 million for labeling rayon textiles as "bamboo." They had kept doing it after FTC warning letters in 2010.
What to put on the label
- If you have proof that the fabric is actual bamboo fiber, you can call it "bamboo."
- If it is regenerated cellulose made from bamboo, use "rayon made from bamboo" or "viscose made from bamboo." Use "lyocell" only if the fiber meets the lyocell process condition above.
- Don't use "bamboo" alone, sound-alike or coined names, or green claims based only on the bamboo source.
I can also check the related Canadian or EU fiber-naming rules if you sell outside the US.
What's the difference between bamboo viscose and bamboo lyocell?
Both are regenerated cellulose fibers that can be made from bamboo pulp. They differ in how the cellulose is processed, and that decides which fiber name you can use. Under US law both fall within the generic fiber "rayon." "Lyocell" is a permitted alternative name only for fiber made by a solvent process that forms no chemical intermediates. Bamboo viscose made by the viscose process doesn't meet that test, so in the US it is labeled as rayon. The FTC also accepts "viscose" (as in "viscose made from bamboo").
Approach: I read the fiber definitions in the US Textile Rules (16 CFR 303.7) and checked them against the eCFR text. I also compared Canada's Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations.
How the US rule draws the line (16 CFR 303.7(d))
- Rayon (covers bamboo viscose): "A manufactured fiber composed of regenerated cellulose." The definition also covers regenerated cellulose in which substituents have replaced up to 15% of the hydrogens of the hydroxyl groups [2].
- Lyocell: may be used "where the fiber is composed of cellulose precipitated from an organic solution in which no substitution of the hydroxyl groups takes place and no chemical intermediates are formed" [2]. The eCFR text is the same [12].
- What this means: lyocell is a type of rayon, not a separate fiber class. You may call it "lyocell" (the rule says "may," so "rayon" stays correct too). Fiber that went through chemical intermediates or substitution of the hydroxyl groups can only be called rayon. The US rule itself doesn't define "viscose." That name comes from the FTC's bamboo guidance cited in my last answer.
Labeling bamboo-derived fiber in the US
| Fiber | Generic name you can use | Example label |
|---|---|---|
| Viscose-process fiber from bamboo | Rayon (the FTC also accepts "viscose") | "Rayon made from bamboo" / "Viscose made from bamboo" |
| Solvent-process fiber from bamboo (meets the lyocell test) | Lyocell or rayon | "Lyocell made from bamboo" |
The descriptive "made from bamboo" wording rests on the rule allowing truthful descriptive terms next to the generic name [3]. The rules contain no specific "lyocell made from bamboo" example. That label is my application of the same principle.
Canada for comparison (Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations, s. 26(2)(c)) Canada names the processes outright. Regenerated or precipitated cellulose is "rayon." If made by the viscose process, it may be called "viscose" or "viscose rayon." If made by a solvent extrusion process in which no chemical intermediates are formed, it may be called "lyocell" or "lyocell rayon" [13].
In practice: which name you can use depends on the manufacturing process, not the bamboo feedstock. Ask your fiber supplier to document the process before you use "lyocell." Neither rule describes the specific chemicals or how the two processes differ environmentally. Any eco-claims are still governed by the Green Guides points from my earlier answer.
What about labels in the UK?
In the UK you can't use "bamboo" as the fibre name on a textile label, even if the fabric is genuine bamboo fibre. The fibre-composition statement may use only the names listed in Annex I of the assimilated Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011, and "bamboo" is not one of them. Bamboo viscose has to be labelled "viscose." Bamboo lyocell has to be labelled "lyocell." This is stricter than the US, where the FTC accepts "rayon made from bamboo" and allows "bamboo" for real bamboo fibre.
Approach: I read the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1102) and the EU fibre-names Regulation's Annex I in the datasets. I then opened the GB version of Regulation 1007/2011 on legislation.gov.uk, the Business Companion trading standards guide and ASA rulings. Northern Ireland is not covered below, because the guidance says it has separate resources.
The legal framework
- SI 2012/1102 enforces the fibre-names Regulation. It makes it a criminal offence to make a product available on the UK market in breach of the provisions listed in Schedule 2 [14]. That list includes Article 5 ("Only textile fibre names listed in Annex I… shall be used"), Article 7 ("100%", "pure" or "all") and Article 16 (how fibre names are presented) [15].
- Article 5 (GB text) on legislation.gov.uk: only Annex I names may describe fibre composition on labels and markings. Those names "shall not be used for other fibres, whether on their own or as a root or as an adjective."
- "Bamboo" is not in Annex I. I checked the GB Annex I. The plant fibres it names are flax/linen, hemp, jute and ramie, each tied to a named plant species. Even fabric made of real bamboo fibre therefore has no name in the list that it can be labelled with.
Which name fits bamboo-derived fibre (Annex I)
| Process | Annex I name | Legal description |
|---|---|---|
| Viscose process | viscose (No. 25) | "regenerated cellulose fibre obtained by the viscose process for filament and discontinuous fibre" [16] |
| Modified viscose, high wet modulus | modal (No. 22) | modified viscose process with set breaking-force and wet-modulus thresholds [17] |
| Organic solvent spinning | lyocell (No. 33) | dissolution and organic-solvent spinning "without formation of derivatives" [18] |
| Cuprammonium process | cupro (No. 21) | [19] |
These four are separate names. The US instead treats lyocell as a type of rayon. The UK list has no "rayon" entry, so "viscose" is the name to use.
Where "from bamboo" can go
- Article 16(2) (GB text) allows only trade marks or the company name immediately before or after the fibre composition. It then says "Other information shall be always displayed separately" (legislation.gov.uk).
- My reading is that the composition line should read, for example, "100% viscose." Any statement that the fibre comes from bamboo should sit apart from that line. "Viscose (bamboo)" or "bamboo viscose" as the composition line would put bamboo next to an Annex I name. The Regulation has no bamboo-specific example, so this is my application of Articles 5 and 16.
- The label must be in English. A two-year allowance for goods that met the EU language rule and were placed on the GB market before the end of the Brexit transition period has run out (Article 16(3), GB text).
Enforcement and liability
- Enforcement is by local weights and measures authorities (Trading Standards) [20].
- The penalty is a fine up to the statutory maximum on summary conviction, or a fine on indictment [21].
- There is a due diligence defence. If you rely on information from a supplier, you must give the prosecutor written notice at least seven clear days before the hearing [22].
- According to Business Companion (updated July 2026), the manufacturer or the importer into the UK is responsible for the label. The label must be durable, legible, visible and in English, and "pure" may be used only for single-fibre garments.
Environmental claims in ads
- The ASA upheld complaints against The Cheeky Panda (4 February 2026) over "Sustainable Bamboo," "100% sustainable bamboo fibre" and "biodegradable" claims for bamboo-viscose nappies and wipes.
- It found that absolute claims needed evidence covering the whole life cycle. Test results for viscose alone did not show that the finished product would biodegrade in real-world conditions.
- These were nappies and wipes, not clothing, but the same advertising rules apply to bamboo-based apparel claims.
Practical label for GB: "100% viscose" (or lyocell or modal, depending on the process your supplier documents). If you want to mention bamboo, put a separate truthful statement elsewhere on the label or hang-tag. Don't use "bamboo" in the composition line, and don't make unqualified eco-claims.
I can also check the EU (and Northern Ireland) position, or whether the EU has added any new fibre names to Annex I since the GB text diverged.