The bamboo used in textiles has to be heavily manipulated to go from stem to store. To create fabric, it's chopped up and dissolved in toxic solvents—the same process that recycles wood scraps into viscose or rayon. Indeed, bamboo fabric technically is rayon.

The Federal Trade Commission sued four small bamboo-clothing manufacturers in August, citing them for false labeling, among other concerns, under the 1958 Textile Fiber Products Identification Act. The companies had used language such as "natural," "biodegradable," and "antimicrobial." But bamboo fabric isn't natural, the FTC said, since it's a textile developed by chemists. The agency also said the biodegradable and antimicrobial qualities of the plant don't survive the manufacturing process.

In a bulletin titled "Have You Been Bamboozled by Bamboo Fabrics?" the FTC said that bamboo fabrics "are made using toxic chemicals in a process that releases pollutants into the air."

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But some wearers have other gripes about bamboo. Mr. Giardina, the FIT professor, says he found that bamboo fabric is unstable and likely to stretch out of shape in damp weather. Uniform Knitters Ltd., a Hong Kong apparel manufacturer, abandoned bamboo fabrics because they tend to shrink and have odd variances in color, according to a company spokeswoman.

Starting in mid-April, e-commerce site Yoox.com will launch YOOXYGEN, a new and ongoing eco-friendly initiative which will offer ethically conscious products like fashion, design, jewelry, and books. Ilaria Venturini Fendi is one participating designer; her Carmina Campus accessories and jewelry line is made from recycled materials, like surprisingly chic clutches constructed out of aluminum slats--formerly Venetian blinds. Other additions to YOOXYGEN include Katharine Hamnett's organic cotton slogan tees, Caboclo jewelry, made from natural objects found on the Brazilian Amazon rainforest floors, and Leny, the eco-friendly brand whose profits support Al Gore's Climate Project.