TigerChef

With more and more people opting for the healthy, eco-friendly alternatives, bamboo is becoming increasingly more popular by the minute. You can buy just about anything bamboo these days, from bamboo furnishing to bamboo clothing, and even bamboo dinnerware. What’s all the bamboo hype about, and is it really as eco-friendly as it is made out to be?

First some quick bamboo facts:

• Bamboo plants grow up to 4 feet per day, making them one of the fastest growing plants on the planet.
• It takes between 3 and 5 years for a bamboo pole to regenerate, whilst it takes other trees a minimum of 30 years to regenerate.
• It produces more oxygen than the equal number of trees.
• Bamboo doesn’t need any pesticides to help it grow.
• It is 100% biodegradable.

Now, as for the eco-friendly hype, it all boils down to what products you are talking about. As for clothing, the process that the bamboo has to go through to be made into fabric is quite ‘ungreen’ to say the least. However, bamboo is definitely softer than cotton, and would be your best option in hot, humid weather since it is light weight and absorbs moisture better than any other fabric. Not to mention that it dries in half the amount of time than cotton does.

As far as flooring is concerned, bamboo is harder, and resists moisture better than other wood flooring. The fact that bamboo is termite resistant and doesn’t rot as quickly as other flooring definitely makes it a more popular choice. Once the bamboo is cut down, it is treated with some chemicals, just like any other wood flooring is.

When it comes to dinnerware, it is the perfect mix between plastic and ceramic, being that it is disposable yet reusable. They are the most biodegradable dinnerware you will find. In addition, you can find bamboo dinnerware that is had no chemicals involved in their manufacturing process. It also requires less energy to manufacture than most other dinnerware.

Filed under: Resource Central • General • Going Green

Tags: bamboo, biodegradable, dinnerware, disposable