A Bit More on the Bamboo Buzz

Posted By Lauren

I’m feeling under the weather again and as we can look outside and see, the weather is quite above us all. I’m not going out to explore Portland for us today. Instead, I thought I’d do a little follow-up on the bamboo craze.
In the interests of being fair and balanced I thought I would make a link to an article at treehugger.com doing a little pooh-poohing of bamboo.

Some major points include:

• Most bamboo is imported from China.
  There is no good local source.
• Although, Bamboo Lifestyles assures us that its products are fair trade, there is no official fair trade certification.
• Some of the processes used to manufacture bamboo flooring are very toxic.
• Bamboo is not necessarily harvested in the most sustainable way. As with farming in general, bamboo crops may be replacing naturally forested areas.

Yesterday, when I talked to the staff at Bamboo Lifestyles, they said that most well-meaning consumers don’t know this. They assured me that their products are manufactured with as little toxicity as possible.

That said, I’m still a fan of bamboo as an alternative to hardwood. Just be careful about how it’s made and where it comes from.

10 November 2006 | Interior Design | Comments

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