Plus 10 Easy Swaps to Make
Like us, you’re probably pretty excited about seeing more eco-friendly products in the market. We love finding new bamboo products across the shelves because bamboo is such a renewable resource. It’s more sustainable, incredibly versatile, and a great alternative to plastic, cotton, wood, and even steel.
But with so many products to choose from, how do you know where to start? Bamboo may seem mysterious, but making changes to a more sustainable lifestyle with bamboo products is easier than you think.
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Why Switch to Bamboo Products
You keep hearing that bamboo is eco-friendly and sustainable, but what does that really mean? What’s so great about this little wonder plant?
Bamboo Grows Quickly With Little Water and No Pesticides
Bamboo is a renewable resource and grows up to 7 times more quickly than trees. It doesn’t need to be replanted because it self-regenerates and creates its own fertilizer from dropped leaves (talk about an overachiever).
Bamboo also needs less water to grow – only about one-third the amount needed to grow cotton.
It’s Antibacterial and Biodegradable
The antibacterial properties of bamboo create a natural barricade against bacteria and bugs that try to live on the bamboo plant. These natural antibacterial properties remain through processing making it a great option for antimicrobial sheets and sportswear.
Because it’s all-natural, bamboo is also biodegradable. The plants will naturally break down, creating a great soil for your garden. Products made entirely from bamboo can be added to your compost bins and will break down in about 6 months.
Bamboo Improves Air Quality
A fully grown bamboo tree produces enough oxygen for one person for an entire year while also absorbing 5 times more carbon dioxide than a pine tree. It’s an ideal plant for fighting climate change because of the sheer amount of greenhouse gasses it absorbs.
While you don’t need to plant bamboo in your yard, you could add a bamboo plant to your home to help reduce benzene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde — common indoor air toxins.
It’s Stronger Than Steel, But Softer Than Cotton
It may seem impossible, but bamboo is so versatile it can be processed to create strips for wood planks and flooring or crushed up and spun into yarn to make fabrics softer than cotton. The way bamboo is spun together creates a truly luxurious material that is also more absorbent and breathable than cotton.
The construction industry is already using bamboo as a replacement for steel and concrete because of the low production cost and benefits to the environment. Scientists are also finding bamboo to be more dense and strong than other wood which could help create stronger buildings.
Bamboo Production Creates Opportunities for Rural Farmers
One benefit of bamboo that we can’t overlook is that it creates great economic opportunities for farmers in China. Most farmers in China have small spaces for growing which works well for bamboo because it can be harvested so quickly making it more profitable than timber.
Bamboo can also be grown on abandoned farmland or on hillsides so there’s no need to clear cut forests to grow it.
What Can Bamboo Be Used to Make?
If you’re new to bamboo it might seem like something you’d find at an exotic market on the other side of the world. Fortunately, bamboo products have become much more accessible and can be used to make almost anything – from buildings all the way to bedding.
Here’s a quick look at some of the products bamboo is used to make.
Personal Care Products
Bamboo is becoming more popular for personal care products because it’s not toxic (no pesticides!) and biodegradable. Many beauty tools can easily be made from bamboo and are stronger and longer lasting than their plastic counterparts.
Depending on the item, the bamboo is ground down and molded into the items you find on store shelves like makeup brushes, soap dishes, and bottles.
Paper Products
Bamboo is an amazing alternative to reduce our growing paper waste problem. The production of paper products leads to deforestation, air pollution, and approximately 26% of total waste in landfills.
Luckily, now you can buy single-use or reusable bamboo products to replace toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, and more. The bamboo is processed similarly to traditional paper using a pulp that’s filtered and dried into a paper-like sheet so it feels the same as the products you’re used to.
Clothing
While we love to stay on trend, textiles is the second-largest polluting industry in the world after oil and gas. Fashion production makes up 10%