Bamboo is one of the world’s best
sustainable resources
With a growth rate of up to a meter or more per day, bamboo holds the world record as the fastest growing plant. And, bamboo is actually not a wood but a grass, continuously sending up new shoots after harvesting without a need for replanting. Bamboo can be utilized in just 4-5
years unlike traditional hardwoods that not only take 25-70 years to mature, but also require replanting.
Good for the Environment
Bamboo is a wonderful alternative to wood materials in that it grows rapidly and is adaptable to many different climates. Fast growing bamboo is a grass that can be cut off near the ground and will re-grow from the same roots. It reaches full maturity in four years, and the living roots systems shore up soil and prevent the destructive effects of erosion caused by traditional lumbering. Unlike traditional hardwoods, bamboo does not require replanting when harvested. Harvesting is done by hand, minimizing the impact on the local environment. By working with bamboo and understanding its growth patterns, bamboo farmers are able to maximize timber production while maintaining healthy forests.
Fighting Global Warming
By encouraging the growth and utilization of bamboo, we can begin to combat global warming. Bamboo takes in nearly 5 times the amount of greenhouse gasses, and produces 35% more oxygen, than an equivalent stand of trees, making it an efficient replenisher of fresh air. Energy from the sun reaches the earth as short-wave radiation; some is absorbed and, historically, some is radiated back as long-wave radiation. The increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in
our atmosphere trap an inordinate amount of long-wave radiation on earth. This increase is attributable to human activity and its production of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas.
Human activity is also responsible for the severe damage to earth’s ability to absorb CO2 as a result of the destruction of forests and depletion of the ozone layer, which allows UV-B radiation
to destroy the oceanic plankton, one of the major filters for CO2.
Bamboo removes CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis by using carbon as an energy source and converting it into plant tissue which releases oxygen as a by-product. Bamboo offers an opportunity to turn away from the destruction of native forests towards
managed commercial plantations that can be selectively harvested annually without the destruction of the grove or stand. While tree plantations must be chopped down for harvest, bamboo renews itself by sending up new shoots constantly. The ability of bamboo to rapidly take up excess nutrients contained in waste waters from manufacturing, intensive livestock farming and sewerage plants has captured the attention of industrial and municipal engineers seeking to establish environmentally safe and reliable ways to deal with such issues.
Healthy Soil
Bamboo also stabilizes the earth with its erosion preventing roots, and improves the health of the soil by sequestering excess nitrogen. Cotton crops require wide spacing that allow bare soils to bake and oxidize, releasing carbon into the atmosphere and decreasing soil fertility. Further, bamboo retains water in the watershed, reduces runoff, sustains riverbanks, and helps mitigate water pollution due to its high nitrogen consumption.
Organic
Bamboo is also good for our ecosystems because it does not require chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
Panda safe
Incidentally, there are over 1200 species of bamboo on this planet. All our products are manufactured from bamboo species such as Moso which is not eaten by Pandas.
