During my May cruise on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas, I saw some information on Cariloha's bamboo products. I thought it sounded interesting having clothing made out of bamboo so, I decided to buy something and see how well it worked. I bought 2 Men's t-shirts and 4 pairs of white socks at their Crown Bay, St. Thomas store. The t-shirts felt very soft. Cariloha claims their bamboo merchandise is softer than cotton and, from my experience, their claim is valid. It really is. Also, they claim it will keep you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. I say maybe on that. Lastly, they claim the product is very "Green." Bamboo grows very quickly (one variety can grow as much as 3 feet in 1 day according to them), requires little or no pesticides and can grow in a number of places. I know from personal experience it can grow in Maryland.
One down side to their products is you will pay a little premium for them. The Men's t-shirts cost $34 a piece and their white socks were $12 a pair though they have a deal where if you buy 3 pairs, you get a 4th pair free.
The chain is proving popular and, franchises are opening in a number of places in the U.S. I saw a thing where they recently opened a store in Washington D.C. which I plan on visiting some time soon. Also, I plan on visiting their store in Key West, Florida when I visit there again next year during a cruise with Royal Caribbean. I think they have a number of stores in the Caribbean too.
One thing about their Men's t-shirts. Some of them have the name of the town the shop is located in and some of them don't. According to the folks I spoke with at their Annapolis, Maryland store, some folks don't like the town name on the shirts so, Cariloha puts out some shirts sans town name to keep them happy. Personally, I like having the town name on them. That makes them something of a collectible to me and gives me a way to show folks some of the places I've traveled to.
Overall, I've been pretty pleased with Cariloha's stuff. I think it's pretty cool that it's made out of bamboo. I don't like that it is a little pricey. They do have sales which can help with that. Plus, I really do like the stuff. I'd definitely recommend it. If there is store near where you live, check it out. They do make very good stuff.
Update June 28, 2014: I did visit their Washington D.C. store which is located at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. I really liked this store. I got to chat with the owner who is super nice. Plus, they had some nice deals. I wasn't wiped out with the National Harbor.
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