Bamboo: Why we're going bananas over it

In case you haven’t heard, bamboo is taking the world by storm. Here are 6 reasons why it is never going to go out of style:

Fast Growing

There are over 1000 species of bamboo and even though it technically falls in to the ‘grass’ family, compared to other trees, bamboo has an incredibly fast growth rate. According to the The Guinness World Records, the fastest growth rate of bamboo on record is 91cm in one day. One day!! Reaching maturity between 1-5 years, it is the only woody plant that can keep up with the demand of human consumption and deforestation.

Sustainable Harvesting

When harvested correctly, bamboo is not killed. This means that it can be repeatedly harvested as new shoots appear every year, growing to the desirable condition in just four or five years. Bamboo roots are also ideal for preventing soil erosion and flooding. Many other slow-growing hardwood species can only be harvested once which can cause topsoil erosion as well as other devastating environmental impacts.

More Oxygen

Bamboo produces more than 30% more oxygen than trees and studies have shown that it can also absorb 12 tonnes  of carbon dioxide per hectare per year. Not only is bamboo cleaning the air better, it is also eliminating greenhouse gasses in greater volumes compared to its other leafy neighbours.

Strength

Bamboo is stronger than steel. Yes - you read that correctly. The tensile strength (the resistance of a material to breaking under tension) is higher than that of steel. On top that, bamboo uses 50 times less energy to produce compared to steel. This fast growing superhero has been used in the building industry for years (and for good reason), so it makes absolute sense for it to be a worthy candidate when is comes to furniture and flooring.

Versatile

Is there anything bamboo can’t do? Sure there are some limitations, but bamboo is a seriously multifaceted plant. We can build with it, eat it, plus we can make a growing number of different products such as clothing, toilet paper, cutlery, plates, dental floss, toothbrushes, combs, hair brushes, furniture. I could go on, but we get the picture. It’s talented.

Biodegradable 

Bamboo can be safely composted without leeching toxic chemicals into the environment. This is huge bonus when we start replacing products typically made from plastic with bamboo alternatives. Items such as hair brushes, reusable cutlery and toothbrushes (to name a just a few) can be composted at the end of their lifecycle instead of going to landfill.

There you have it; Bamboo is King, and long may it reign. Whether it is socks, underwear or a notepad, there is a bamboo version of it out there. Make the sustainable choice.