Why Bamboo?
The Reasons You Should Switch to Bamboo Products
October 26, 2019 – by Natalie Wilson
The other day I met up with some of my friends at an awesome outdoor bar called The Rayback Collective here in Boulder with a bunch of food trucks and amazing selection of beers. It was a bright sunny day in the mountains, so I was wearing my favorite pair of bamboo sunglasses. Everyone kept asking me where I got them, and what they were made of. We started talking about how bamboo is a great eco-friendly resources for all kinds of products and accessories.
Not Natalie! Pretty awesome bamboo sunglasses though.
I decided to do a bit of research on all the properties of bamboo that make it so great for the environment and put together this page to share some of that knowledge with everyone.
So are bamboo products really as great for the environment as everyone is saying? Yes and no. Bamboo products are a great option for the environmentally conscious if they are made from whole bamboo and the production process does not make use of harsh chemicals that are typically found in bamboo fabric. In its natural state as a plant, bamboo is resistant to pests, fungus, and bacteria. It is biodegradable and regrows completely in as little as 3 years.
An Eco-Friendly Alternative
Of course, I’m not the first person to realize that bamboo is a natural, environmentally friendly resource. Bamboo has gotten a lot of attention in recent years for being an eco-friendly alternative to other types of materials, particularly plastic and cotton.
One of the primary characteristics of bamboo that makes it such a solid alternative to materials like cotton, wood, and plastic is that the growth properties of the bamboo plant make it extremely sustainable and renewable compared to other choices. However, there is a note of caution here. Some bamboo products, particularly those made from bamboo fabric, require extensive use of chemicals in their products. More on that below!
Some of the most notable properties of bamboo that make it stand out are:
- Requires about 85% less water to grow than cotton
- Does not require pesticides to grow since it is naturally pest resistant
- Antibacterial and anti-fungal
- Extremely fast growth means it is fully grown within 3 to 5 years
- Products as much as 40% more oxygen than other plants
- Absorbs almost 5 times as much carbon dioxide as other plants
- Bamboo forests can help rebuild and nourish depleted soil