Is Bamboo the Right Product for you?

When you were a child, do you remember those pictures of cute little koala bears poised up on a big piece of bamboo? Today, bamboo has become a lot more than just koala climbing post; it’s in our homes and growing in popularity every day because of its great environmental benefits!

If you’ve done any kitchen shopping recently, you may have noticed all of the bamboo utensils and kitchen accessories.  In this form, bamboo looks and feels like regular wood, just a little more lightweight.  However, bamboo is actually considered a wood-like grass.  Once treated, it can become a very strong wood-like substance that can be used for a ton of great products.

Bamboo is becoming more heavily used because of its awesome environmental properties.  For one thing, it is one of the fastest growing wood-like plants in the world, which means it can be an ever-renewable source for both luxuries like home décor, and even construction purposes.   Bamboo has actually been reported to grow up to 25 inches in just 24 hours, so fast you could almost see it growing!

Another beneficial aspect of bamboo is its strength.  Although it is extremely lightweight, bamboo is both flexible and strong, and many people actually use it for building as scaffolding and flooring.  Both of these uses call for something durable, and something resilient enough to hold a lot of weight.

Bamboo, in some forms, is also edible.  Bamboo shoots, which are tiny bamboo at its beginning growth stages, are often used in Chinese cooking.  When cooked, it tends to absorb the flavors around it, but still retains a chewy texture.

Most woods are not resilient against water, and therefore cannot be used in conjunction to high-water areas without being treated to withstand water damage.  Bamboo, however, keeps its strength and shape when wet, so it can be used as flooring in bathrooms where wood in uncommon, and even outside in rainy weather.  This makes bamboo one of the most versatile wood-like products available!

Using bamboo in place of other woods can you help you continue in your green movement! Its versatility, sustainability, and renewability have made it a leading product in the environmentally friendly market.

Even with all the benefits of this woody grass, there’s still a lot to watch out for.  The majority of bamboo used for production in the world is grown in Asia.  This means that when it is transported to other countries, it may be moved using methods not approved by most green movements.  Also, bamboo is sometimes treated with toxic chemicals in order to create the hard substance often used in homes today.

However, since most wood products are made using trees that do not grow nearly as quickly, and sometimes don’t even last very long, bamboo is still a leading green product that many environmentally friendly companies still choose to produce.  This means that often the benefits of bamboo outweigh the problems.

If you have any questions about bamboo, or would like help finding the best bamboo products, contact us! You can send us an email by clicking on our “contact” tab near the top of the page!

Nicole Espinosa
EPS Editor and Writer

34 thoughts on “Is Bamboo the Right Product for you?”

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  5. Ray is most definitely the Thai-American MacGyver. I rnceetly blogged about a hybrid competing for a prize at an upcoming Chinese bike expo. The high-stress portions of the frame are not bamboo. A follower emailed me to say that someone in Milwaukee is producing boocycles as well. Very expensive of course, but still pretty cool. I installed bamboo floors in my place in Madison, liking the look of them and the environmental aspect of an easy to renew source. But one wonders about the process of treating the wood to form the planks, the aluminum oxide urethane finish, and just the fact that it must ship from far far away, likely China (which opens up a whole different can of worms re: quality control, ecology and ethics). I read about a guy growing bamboo in his yard in Pennsylvania. It is quite adaptable in that respect, but detractors will point out it is an aggressive and potentially invasive species in that case. Perhaps Ray can comment on that from his previous life as a botanist, EPA investigator and industrial engineer.

  6. LOL, nice post, Kevin. The 3 of us should be hanvig this conversation over seafood and beer, not on my humble blog with 3 readers (still looking for that lurker). True about what you say about bamboo flooring, and how it needs to be treated, and shipped, which may end up being a greater carbon footprint than using oak I guess this whole conversation is an exercise in critical thinking, and what looks like it should be green may not be green I recall articles comparing the Toyota Prius with a Chevy Tahoe, and when you compared both vehicles’ footprint from birth to grave, the Tahoe had a smaller carbon footprint (or whatever measure was used then) Cheers!

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