Bamboo viscose

Bamboo viscose, sometimes labeled bamboo rayon, is made by breaking down bamboo pulp chemically and re-spinning it into fine fibers. Despite starting from bamboo, the finished fabric behaves like other rayon fibers rather than retaining much of the plant's original structure.

The resulting fabric has a smooth, silky hand and drapes well, and it manages moisture reasonably well, which is part of why bamboo sheets and pillowcases are marketed toward hot sleepers. It is usually woven in a sateen-like structure, though, which means it can trap slightly more heat than a plain-weave fabric despite the cool initial touch.

A frequent point of confusion is assuming bamboo fabric is automatically more breathable than cotton or linen simply because bamboo plants grow quickly and sustainably. The processing method matters more than the source plant: bamboo lyocell, made with a cleaner closed-loop process, tends to breathe and wick better than standard bamboo viscose, so checking which process a product uses is worth doing before buying.