Is Bamboo better?

It seems that Bamboo is the new and exciting eco-fibre, especially in terms of baby clothes and cloth nappies. It's promoted to be somehow 'better' however is it really or is it just a new inventive marketing tool?

Bamboo for me seems a mixed blessing. The following are points on Bamboo that has helped me develop that opinion.

BENEFITS
-Very soft.
-Very absorbent in fact approximately x6 than cotton.
-Anti fungal and antibacterial.
-A renewable resource.
-Hypoallergenic, less irritation than wool or hemp.
-Naturally smooth without chemical rounding.
-Insulation properties, warmer in winter/ cooler in summer.
-Naturally wicks moisture away for evaporation.
-Does not require the use of pesticides/fungicides/fertilisers as it grows quickly, thus more often organic.

DISADVANTAGES
-White bamboo fibre has been extensively bleached
-The process of turning the bamboo into yarn require a lot of chemicals transforming the fibres into a semi-natural/semi-synthecitc material. As thus bamboo can be mislabelled as natural and biodegradable. This process is less eco-impacting than conventional cotton processing however organic cotton has a far less caustic manufacturing process.
-A more eco-friendly manufacturing process with the use of pressing instead of chemicals does exist however is more labour intensive and used less often because of this.
-Prone to stretching and fading.