by Michael Smith
The headline can be seen as both a statement of fact as well as a question and we shall be looking at it from those angles as well.
Aside from using bamboo as a (sustainable) replacement and substitute for wood, it can also be spun, if that is the correct term here, into fiber and yarn from which to make clothing, such as T-shirts and such like.
However, our immediate concern here shall be as regards to bamboo as a (sustainable) replacement for hardwood and even more.
In the Far East, where bamboo originates, this grass, for that is what it is, for it is not a tree, is used also in many instances to replace metal.
Scaffolding, for instance, are made from bamboo poles in places such as China, and also, so I understand, the structural frame of many building, instead of using steel. As the material is extremely flexible, even when dry, it is much better in, say, earthquake areas, such as are many of its home countries, so to speak. Bamboo frames withstand the shocks of the earthquake much better than steel does and appear not to suffer the same damage.
Bamboo has also been using in many of those countries such as China, Vietnam, Japan – and in other places where it does grow, such as in the jungles of Asia and Latin America – for cutting blades, such as knives, arrows and spears. Also is was uses as a replacement for steel in the way of digging tools such a spades and shovels, and tools for tending the gardens.
But, I digressed a little here again: we were dealing with bamboo as a (sustainable) substitute for certain uses of hardwoods, were we not?
From what I have so far of products made from this plant, such as the kitchen and lifestyle utensils and accessories by “bambu”, and American company, whose products are now available in the UK via “Green Pioneer Ltd.”, and also others, such as the use of bamboo in ASUS laptop cases, it is quire capable to be a more sustainable (?) substitute for some hardwoods, especially the tropical kind, and in the case of computer cases, of plastics.
The reason I have been putting the word “sustainable” in brackets or, as in the previous paragraph, marked with a question mark in brackets, is that I, to some degree, question the sustainable issue.
Why do I question the sustainable issue as regards to bamboo and bamboo products? The answer here is that, while I am well aware of the fact that bamboo regrows to its full height and extent after cutting in about seven years and that cutting actually makes it grow more vigorously, live any grass, I do wonder as to the environmental footprint of transporting the goods, though often made in “Fair Trade” workshops from, say, China or Vietnam, to the UK or the USA.
That, however, I would hasten to add, is my sole concern, I think, as far as bamboo's green credentials are concerned.
The nice thing with bamboo is that containers can be made from it without the need of much work even, should one want the real rustic look. On the other hand it can be worked into many different things, the list which would be a little too long to mention here.
I must say that the more I hand bamboo the more I enjoy it and it's texture, though I also and especially love wood. The latter is, probably, still a greater love of mine, and here particularly native hardwoods.
Bamboo has an advantage over wood per se in that it can be used for the making of disposable flatware, as well as disposable plates and dishes; something that just cannot be made from wood, at least not directly. In addition to that there are eating utensils such as small pocket-size sporks and also other items of reusable picnic flatware. Not that one only has to use that kind of flatware for picnics, now. Wood just would not have the structural integrity and strength for this. Wooden spoons are one thing but...
Therefore bamboo is a suitable and possibly green substitute here and we should welcome it, especially when those products are made at Fair Trade approved workshops and conditions.
Bambu products can be purchased in the UK via http://www.bambuboutique.co.uk/ and in the USA via http://bambuhome.com/. For stockists in other areas contact bambu in the USA.
© M Smith (Veshengro), February 2009
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Bamboo – A sustainable alternative to hardwood
