I love bamboo, first have been purchasing towels (60%organic cotton and 40% bamboo) wonderful softness, just bought 100% bamboo bed linens, they are cool and I understand they are very sanitary? We are about to remodel our kitchen and master suite and plan on a "green" remodel and want to use bamboo flooring. But we are also looking at cork for the kitchen. I am planting several varities on our 5 acres to see how it does, I just read that it emits 35% more oxygen than most shrubery. Can't verify the accuracy but know that it seems to grow without any fertilizers and has no need for pesticides.

Bamboo does grow in the Us in the South and as far north as New Jersey in fact it grows wild in NJ

Let's not forget bamboo shoots are edible. This would also help thin out the crop.

Bamboo shoots are low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Riboflavin and Zinc, and a very good source of Vitamin B6, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.

I love my bamboo floors. We were going to install them upstairs in a few months. Please tell me if that's bad for the environment, and we'll find a plan B.
Thanks!

We love bamboo!

As a Green business that sells eco-friendly casual clothing we love bamboo. We have developed a whole line of yoga clothing using bamboo fabric and it is now one of our best sellers. The fabric is naturally anti-wicking, anti-bacterial, has a built in SPF14 and is super soft, some call is eco-cashmere! Our bamboo yoga pants look great with our 100% organic t-shirts too!

We are also introducing a line of Bamboo Spa Wear this spring that includes bamboo spa robes, washcloths, spa mitts and headbands.

Enjoy!

Claire Loran
Owner
www.egreent.com
732-306-0147

I use bamboo bed sheets and LOVE them!!

Absolutely love bamboo!

As a Green business that sells eco-friendly casual clothing we love bamboo. We have developed a whole line of yoga clothing using bamboo fabric and it is now one of our best sellers. The fabric is naturally anti-wicking, anti-bacterial, has a built in SPF14 and is super soft, some call is eco-cashmere! Our bamboo yoga pants look great with our 100% organic t-shirts too!

We are also introducing a line of Bamboo Spa Wear this spring that includes bamboo spa robes, washcloths, spa mitts and headbands.

Enjoy!

Claire Loran
Owner
www.egreent.com
732-306-0147

My vote for bamboo floors was vetoed so I have bamboo cupboards. Actually in a kitchen remodel the cupboards were refaced. It looks very nice and has worked well for two years now.

Bamboo can be grown commercially in the US. It is hardy in zones 7,8 and 9. Growing particularly well in the south and Pacific coast states. The USDA worked hard right into the 1960's to establish this as a commercial crop but the farmers were reluctant. Maybe with the big upsurge in interest in renewable resources more US farmers will start to cultivate it.

can Bamboo be grown in the states that grow tobacco? Can companies grow Bamboo & make money? If so, they should change products.

I bought a set of bamboo kitchen utensils and I love them. I call them my sboons. They replace wooden spoons perfectly. When I first saw them in the store I couldn't believe they were not wood. They are very strong, and the grain of bamboo being very tight, they don't stain or damage as much as my old regular wooden spoons. I am delighted. I see plenty of uses possibles where bamboo would replace wood, the lathing in the walls for example.
Go, bamboo, go!

I've been using bamboo (wooden) spoons for years and my daughter uses a bamboo cutting board. She sells them through her Pampered Chef home parties and they say that bamboo does not hold germs like wood cutting boards and spoons.

They are great and have worn well. If bamboo is renewable faster than trees, why not use it as much as we can.

Check the bamboo wood products out at PamperedChef.com

Go GREEN!!
Lorraine from Penna.

We are building and strongly considering using bamboo flooring. Which products are recommended for sustainability in harvesting and producing, and which hold up best? Is there cabinetry also?
Thanks -

I wear a pair of bamboo shoes that are stylish and comfortable.

I love my bamboo cutting board, I can put it in the dishwasher!

I have been seeing bamboo yarn to knit but have no idea if it is sustainable or imported or free trade. How do you get this infomation on a product?

I understand bamboo's value because it grows quickly and such. But it doesn't grow in North America where I live. It seems silly to be shipping it around the world for use in buildings. If I buy something that travels far on a plane or boat, how green am I?

I installed bamboo flooring in my condo 4 years ago and love it. It is strong, durable, RENEWABLE and very good looking. Bamboo fits in with both traditional and modern designs and has a good feel when I run my hands on the floor. Smooth with great grain designs it is perfect for any room in one's home. I have it in my kitchen as well and it stands up to all the rigors of kitchen wear. And as a renewable resource I really like the fact that n trees were cut to give me the look I wanted. Bamboo is a great resource!

Bamboo Cutting boards work very well in the kitchen, plus germs can't grow on them like the old wooden ones. You can get them at Bed Bath & Beyond.

We have bamboo floors that we love. We did have a powder-post beetle problem in the floors and had to have one room's floor replaced. That's a kiln-drying problem the industry needs to be careful to resolve.

I'm wondering whether contained bamboo growths have been tried somewhere as a green, beautiful, pollution-reducing, cost-reducing alternative to high concrete sound-barriers along interstate highways.

I have bamboo area rugs, a bamboo blanket and bamboo sticks for decoration. I also have Jute area rugs in my home.

I'm interested in bamboo flooring but I don't trust the purveyors of the products to give me the straight facts. I know bamboo like palm trees are grasses not trees and don't have quite the same positive carbon impact. I also know that bamboo grows very quickly. What I don't know is do bamboo harvesters clear-cut, grow it as a crop, could any of the by-products of the harvest be economically feasible for bio-fuel?

In central California I fenced my yard with bamboo instead of redwood. The 7 ft. tall Chinese picture frame design cost less than redwood, looks fantastic, get's rave reviews from the neighbors, is low maintenance, keeps deer out of the yard and is sustainable. Let's build more bamboo fences!!

I see what K Hughes says about adding it to your garden, make sure to get the clumping type. I plan on trying several varities, but will use several large containers to prevent it from spreading. I have several very large containers from previous tree purchases and did not know what to do with them. This should be prefect.

Hey,
I think the things that have stared are good but it will take much more effort on all of our parts and with the bamboo i have never heard of using it for flooring and guess it would make sense. All i have are a few baskets made out of bamboo but im only 16 so im sure my mom has more haha!
~chelly~

I love bamboo as a fabric for clothing. It is softer than cashmere, more breathable than cotton and durable. HTNaturals uses combo's of organic cotton and bamboo. Great clothing.

On the surface, bamboo sounds 'green' ...a rapidly growing grass that can be transformed into attractive, strong and in many cases recyclable products.

A large percentage of bamboo originates in China, and many of the products (particularly flooring) require significant, complex and energy heavy processing, as well a long distance transportation. In addition, the agricultural processes involved in growing and harvesting this bamboo are not well known. Are native forests/ecosystems being destroyed to plant more bamboo?.

We put bamboo floors throughout our house and love the look and feel and of course the environmentally friendliness.

I also have a bamboo blanket which is wonderful.

I would have loved to buy bamboo cabinets when we remodeled our kitchen, but we could not find anyone making them.

I still have questions about the processing of bamboo for fabric. I have heard that it takes more energy/processing agents to make the fabric into "rayon" than it is worth. True or not? Anyone know? There also is a USDA certification for Organic - I have never seen that on a bamboo product and I have on Cotton. comments?

I spent part of last summer removing exotic invasive Golden Bamboo from areas in the Southeastern U.S. It indeed grows very fast, and is a hardy wood, that is nearly impossible to kill because of it's rhizomous growth! Maybe using native's cane's is a better option, or , as the original posting says, it should be used in enclosed plantations to not disturb the native environment that it lies within. I actually never thought too much about where it comes from in china, although i've acknowledged it must come from overseas. I'm glad this is being brought up, and bringing to light that there are certain green-myths that need to be looked at more deeply :)

I made some modern cloth nappies using an organic bamboo/ cotton mix for my son. They are very absorbent & soft but we didnt get much use out of them because we have gone the 'greener' option of nappy-free YAY!

I have a bamboo towel. It got stained when I left a pen in the wash but I'm not getting rid of it, it's too soft to give up.

I am a university researcher testing bamboo plywood as a construction material. Can anyone lead me to sources and prices in China for the laminated woven-mat bamboo board known as "red board" and used for concrete construction forms?

We installed bamboo flooring throughout our house 5 years ago. Bamboo grows about a foot a week as opposed to a Doug-fir or Oak tree which grows 1-2 feet a year. Our bamboo is from China. I wish the US would start growing bamboo so it could be purchased locally. I also have a shirt and socks made of bamboo. They are very soft and comfortable. Just like any resource, we need to grow and harvest responsibly. Unfortunately, when people realize there is money to be made; greed will rear its ugly head.

We had bamboo fencing around part of our pool. It was shipped from California. I've seen it growing in several parts of the United States. But what makes it environmentally friendly? I've seen it grow out of control and ruin already naturally wooded areas as it spreads...

Bamboo appears to be an invasive plant here in Maryland. It enjoys the moist river banks. It spreads easily and is choking out our beautiful native species.

As a building product it is beautiful, durable, and natural. But is this bamboo grown in Asia and imported, using foreign resources and lots of energy to transport, or is it grown here in the US and becoming an invasive plant?

I've never thought about using bamboo for anything before. Will certainly look into it from now on.

I've been trying hard to find a source for bamboo fabric (yardgoods)other than China (yes, Turkey produces it too, oddly), and I can't find anything dependable as a source for telling me about the growing, processing, anything. It's a great idea, but it looks like it's not being produced the way we hope (yet).

Bamboo Rocks! I am wondering if anyone knows why we don't grow and harvest bamboo in the States? I live in S CA and all kinds grow very well here. In addition, I believe that many places in the South would be excellent candidates for Bamboo Farms.
I have a non profit organization (www.planetrehab.org) that is dedicated to conserving Rain Forests and believe that using Bamboo as a resource is a step in the right direction.
Gary@planetrehab.org

I spent 3 weeks in Japan with Japanese
families and it was pointed out to me that the over growth of bamboo in the countryside is a great problem. I wonder why it cannot be make into fuel
so that we can become fossil-free.

Well, other woods from properly managed forests should be considered, Take into account the total CO2 that takes it to get to your floor. Also you are sequestering CO2 on your floor.

I have removed all my copper pipes and sold it for scrap. Bought enough bamboo and several 20' long reinforcement rods which I heated and
forced thru the centers of that bamboo. With couplers, made from old innertubes, I now have a complete water system running thru bamboo -- just like I have seen in pictures of our cousins in the forests of asia. Always glad to do my part. Oh yeah, I got rid of my Cadillac and now ride an Italian Vespa to Trader Joes where I use my cloth sacks which saves more bamboo for others. A bit primitive but I am always glad to help.

I'm just wondering - do all bamboo textiles need to include cotton and/or other ingredients, and if so, why? I have yet to buy any but they sound wonderful. I didn't know about bamboo cutting boards being germ-resistant or dishwasher safe as well. very cool. Although it isn't a native plant, I think some bamboo can grow and survive in cold climates, can't it?
~~Nik

Would anyone in the apparel or furniture business(any indusry)using strictly ORGANIC(Fair Trade materials)be willing to use my LOGO(BEST message for ALL thats "GREEN" on SaveOurGreenPlanet.org ???
contact US on web-site
THANKS
Norman Riback
973-670-2555

Would anyone in the apparel or furniture business(any indusry)using strictly ORGANIC(Fair Trade materials)be willing to use my LOGO(BEST message for ALL thats “GREEN” on SaveOurGreenPlanet.org ???
contact US on web-site
THANKS
Norman Riback
www.SaveOurGreenPlanet.org

Hi
To use bamboo is great, but my cuestion is , What happen, if everybody use bamboo,and nobody, plant, I only think.
because in this country the mostly people dont´t like the trees or the life green.
Bye

I have bamboo socks, and sheets and love them both. Bamboo grows great in Memphis. I use it for garden stakes, tarp poles, in my art work and love to burn sections of it in a fire because it pops!

We use bamboo flooring in our home, it has been awesome. It looks soft and warm, and feels great on your barefeet.

In our retail locations, we used bamboo for internal wall siding and to build retail display cabinets. It looked great and made an awesome impression on customers.

Besides bamboo being one of the most renewable resources, Growing as rapidly as 3-4 ft per day. It's incredibly soft and porous, my bamboo blanket is one fine fibrous cover keeping me warm in winter and cool in summer. Also the antibacterial properties mean it requires far less washing.

Bamboo's the bees knees!

Hi in my point of view bamboo is the world most fragile plant on earth... the panda are dying because of the company is cutting all of the bamboo to sell it in Dollorama's....

I try to never buy anything that is bamboo because it REALLY BAD for the environment.

I'M surprise anybody seem to know that...