Bamboo flooring, cutting boards, clothing and more are appearing on North American store shelves, with eco-marketers urging shoppers to opt for these reputably-sustainable products. What’s the big deal with bamboo? We asked the experts at Bamboo H20 in San Francisco to explain why bamboo-green is the new black.

It’s the world’s tallest grass, the fastest growing woody plant in the world, and possibly the answer to our consumer prayers.

While bamboo has been used by human beings all around the world for thousands of years, the plant’s potential as a substitute for slower-growing wood species in a vast number of modern commercial uses has only recently been recognized. As a result, more attention is being paid to the development of applications and commercial markets.

Bamboo is the fastest growing canopy for the re-greening of degraded lands and releases 35% more oxygen than equivalent timber stands. Bamboo sequesters carbon at a rate of C=50% dry weight (approximately the same percentage of carbon as a conifer forest).

Bamboos include over 1,000 species of woody, perennial grasses. The grasses are relatively recent additions to the earth’s flora, having evolved only 30 to 40 million years ago: long after the demise of the dinosaurs. Bamboo is the most diverse group of plants in the grass family, and the most primitive sub-family. It is distinguished by a woody “culm” (stem), complex branching, a robust rhizome system, and infrequent flowering. Bamboo is capable of growing up to 24 inches (60 cm) or more per day, depending on soil and climate conditions. Unlike trees, all bamboo is able to grow to its full height and size in a single growing season of three to four months. It perpetuates itself through its rhizome system rather than seed, and therefore doesn’t need to be replanted if it’s sustainably harvested. Different bamboo varieties can grow in extremely diverse conditions, from South East Asia to Canada.

Silica powder, called “Tabashir,” can be found inside of the culms (stems).

Bamboo is widely used for housing construction and other traditional purposes, including scaffolding, furniture, bridging, fencing, musical instruments, paper, food for humans and livestock, and cooking fuel. Pound for pound, laminated bamboo has been found to be stiffer than soft steel; it is also harder surfaced than either fiberglass or red oak. From roots to tip, you can make soap, medicines, cosmetics, furniture, bricks, clothing, floor tiles, wall panels, beer and beverages, vegetables — even surf boards — from bamboo. Bamboo can be flattened into boards, molded into 3-D forms, spun into fabric, pressed into veneers, slivered and interlaced into mats, and much more. In terms of exports, bamboo’s potential is primarily in the areas of furniture and handicrafts, whose global market grows at an average of US$8 billion annually.

In November 2009, Dell announced it is shipping its Dell Inspiron Mini 10 and 10v netbooks in packaging made from bamboo. Image courtesy of Dell Inc.

Thomas Edison is said to have used a carbonized bamboo filament in his experiments in developing the light bulb. Alexander Graham Bell used bamboo for his first phonograph needle.

Safe for consumers and workers?

India is the world’s largest producer of bamboo, but most bamboo used for flooring comes from China and Vietnam. Indonesia, Japan and Costa Rica also export bamboo for flooring. Given the rampant lack of guidelines for fair labor practices on farms and in factories, Fair Trade certification standards are desperately needed for bamboo: as yet, none exist. Also, many bamboo floors exported from China contain high levels of urea formaldehyde that do not meet safety standards in other countries.

Environmentally sustainable?
Overseas production and processing means international shipping … not quite the carbon-footprint many eco-shoppers are looking for. Species of bamboo can be grown (and are being grown) in North America: time will tell if local production will be able to meet the demand.

Another environmental issue is the large areas of natural forests being cleared to grow the crop for export. Clear-cutting leads to erosion, while the heavy use of insecticides and chemical fertilizers to increase yields are also increasing soil loss and toxicity. Ironically, proper management of bamboo groves can actually help prevent soil erosion, given bamboo’s rhizome system.

With these concerns in mind, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Canada, an international certification and labeling system, now has basic certification standards for bamboo products. FSC certification verifies that the bamboo has been harvested in a sustainable and responsible manner. The “FSC Pure” label means these designated bamboo products are made from 100 percent FSC material from an FSC-certified forest and have been sold and processed by an FSC chain-of-custody-certified company.

Residents of a small Philippine community constructed these 90% bamboo taxis, which are powered by coconut biofuel.

As a result of bamboo’s popularity, many flooring distributors in North America have established more stringent guidelines for the bamboo products they sell. Some of these guidelines require bamboo flooring to have water-based finishes and to be manufactured with formaldehyde-free processing. The International Standard Organization (ISO) has developed three standards for bamboo as a construction material.

If you want to buy bamboo products, look for applicable certifications. You can also ask for the bamboo’s country of origin, and whether the bamboo was harvested from a plantation, which would suggest more stringent harvesting practices.

Bamboo Facts

• Yields an annual harvest for fifty years or more before replanting.
• Photosynthesizes sunlight into plant energy year-round.
• Profitably processed for cellulosic ethanol and bio-diesel.
• Full vertical stature in 60 days or less.
• High quality and optimum potential strength in five years
• Less mature culms can be used for biomass, paper pulp, weaving, or anywhere that compressive strength or stiffness is not needed.
• Ecoservices include ability to bioremediate.
• Selectively culmed on an annual basis.
• High yields and low input requirements equal a very favorable carbon footprint.

A Multi-Purpose Plant

• Symbiotic edible fungi can be cultured in a bamboo grove.
• New shoots of bamboo are edible and nutritious.
• Foliage is a very palatable high-protein feed (up to 22%) for livestock.
• The cut culms are a good source of pulp for high-quality papermaking. One species (Phyllostachys rubromarginata) can out-yield loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) 6 to 1.
• Bio-polymers (the basis of most plastic) can be processed from bamboo.
• The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be recovered for energy production before pulping for paper making.

So, is bamboo the greatest thing since duct tape? Tell us what you think –post your comments below.