Which fabric is the most absorbent–organic cotton, hemp, or bamboo?
Some of my best info came from a study that was sponsored by cotton incorporated. You’d recognize that company’s logo if you saw it–it’s a tree. If you are as nerdy as I am, you can read it here (pdf download) until the link dies. Anyways, their conclusion is that thickness of a fabric has a great deal to do with the absorbency of that fabric. Therefore, a layer of terry is more absorbent than a layer of flannel. I know that seems really obvious… This is why all of my diapers have a layer of terry sewn in the wet zone–not much to it, but it’s a GREAT absorbency boost. It also adds “texture” to the diaper and helps it to maintain a soft and squishy loft to it rather than the fibers becoming packed together. I think that people think they need to pay more for a fabric for it to be a better absorber, and this is not always true (noted in the case of using terry). The study also concludes that the more a fabric absorbs, the longer it takes to dry. In my experience, organic cotton fleec
