Highland Feather bamboo sheets #SafeSleep

I first discovered bamboo sheets four years ago while browsing at Baby on the Hip in the east end of Toronto. I bought the crib sheet on the spot, and it has since been used with both kids. Extensively. It’s my favourite, so it’s got holes in the corners – but I always put it at the top of the pile once it’s washed.

My kids are both tummy sleepers so I always think of their soft cheeks being met with the loveliness that is a bamboo sheet.

I’ve been a Highland Feather fan since university when my parents bought me a goose-down duvet to keep me warm during the cold Kingston winters. I still have it and it’s in amazing shape (and I graduated a long, long time ago…in case you were wondering).

I was thrilled that this Canadian company offered to let me try its bamboo sheet set for The K Man’s big bed. Bamboo is a 40-million-year-old plant and considered a weed – probably the only weed that gets good PR. And if you’ve never felt a bamboo sheet, well…

THE GOOD

First and most important: the Highland Feather bamboo sheets are silky soft. Since The K Man is still sleeping with his toddler pillow, Big B and I are borrowing the pillowcases that came with this sheet set. They’re dreamy. I’ve watched my kids, in their sleep, just rub their little faces back and forth on their bamboo sheets. There’s nothing like it.

Bamboo is one of the most renewable resources in the world. The stuff grows like crazy (actually, it’s the fastest-growing plant on the planet) – unless, that is, it’s in a vase under my care. I kill bamboo. You’re not supposed to be able to, but I’ve done it three times. It’s a miracle I keep children alive.

Grown without pesticides, an acre of bamboo absorbs 33 per cent more carbon dioxide than trees. It also releases 35 per cent more oxygen. Hooray for more oxygen!

Bamboo is three times more breathable than cotton. Perhaps this is why it’s so good at wicking moisture away from your body. Like wool and muslin, it’ll help regulate your child’s body temperature all night – whatever the season. In fact, I was just chatting with my aunt at Thanksgiving dinner last night about these sheets and she mentioned that a sales rep in a mattress store recently sold her and my uncle some bamboo sheets to help combat his night sweats. Her verdict? Since night one, not a drop of sweat in sight.

Naturally antibacterial, there’s no need for antimicrobial (chemical) treatments, and you don’t need to wash it as often as you do other fabrics. So maybe you’ll strip your kid’s bed biweekly instead of every week. Don’t you have enough laundry to do already?

These bamboo sheets are soooo lightweight. Dare I write light as a Highland Feather? (Wow; reading that back, it came off even cheesier than I thought it would.)

I am not someone who will iron sheets. Ever. But it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it when these bamboo sheets emerge from the dryer without a crease in sight.

At about $120 for a set that includes a fitted sheet, flat sheet and two pillowcases, the price is reasonable. Compare it to another eco-friendly or organic set and I think it’s pretty economical. We’re talking $10 a month for the first year, and then you’re sleeping on free sheets, baby.

THE GAFFE

Since these sheets are not classified as Oeko-Tex Standard 100-certified, it’s likely that they’ve been heavily processed to go from bamboo to rayon. To turn bamboo into rayon, you can’t escape the use of nasty chemicals (well, you can, but it’s very labour-intensive and costly so my guess is that it’s not the most widely used process). Bamboo has a ton of advantages – including truly positive ecological and health advantages – but if you’re looking for a totally non-chemical sheet, bamboo is not it. This is where you have an advantage with certified organic cotton sheets – and while a high-quality set may come close, you won’t achieve the same extreme softness you get with bamboo, so it’s a definite trade-off. I would personally be happy to pay a premium price to get the Oeko-Tex certification for a bamboo sheet fix.

If you or your child has an exceptionally thick mattress, I’m not sure how well these will fit. The K Man’s organic mattress is only about seven inches thick and the Highland Feather fitted sheet is a great fit – but there’s not oodles of extra fabric to spare.

If you have one of the lighter colours, and you’ve got a mattress or pillow with any kind of design, you’re going to see it clear as day through the sheets and pillowcases.

THE GEARS

3.5/5 (with certification, these would be darn near perfect)

So…where can you buy it?

• Heirloom Linens
• Home Sweet Linens
• Have some CIBC World of Gold Rewards or TD Rewards points you want to use? Get yourself some Highland Feather bamboo sheets!

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