I have a bamboo cutting board (like many posters).

I also use disposable bamboo utensils at work. I felt awful using plastic utensils everyday at work, so I started searching for a greener alternative. On greenfeet.com I found the utensils. They have tons of different bamboo products.

I look forward to the upcoming article!

The only bamboo I have is two favorite stirring utensils that I use when cooking.
Bamboo is coming though and I like it!!

We are finishing an unfinished basement and would have LOVED to put bamboo in. And we would have if it was grown in MN or even in the midwest. I couldn't justify the carbon used to tranport it, so we went with hardwood from MN.

I was planning on using bamboo flooring because I thought that harvesting it was better than harvesting old growth forests. Then I realized that most of the bamboo we get comes from China. I have very strong feelings about trade with China right now. China is manipulating the currancy so our dollar is not as strong. They are buying the debt that we have accrued from the Iraq war. They do not pay their workers fair wages or provide a decent standard of living for them. Our companies cannot compete with the Chinese market. We have lost jobs to China, and we have no quality control of products from China. I will continue to boycott products from China until the United States makes some changes in our trade policy and in our domestic policy.

I installed bamboo floors in my master bedroom suite. They are beautiful, but BEWARE ... they are not as durable as the 100 year old heart pine floors in the rest of my house. They dent VERY easily. I was given the impression by several people (contractors, home depot employees, ect.) that they were stronger then traditional hardwoods. I have not found that to be the case.

This is off subject but I am a skater. I have switched to all bamboo skate boards. I know the glue is still bad for the environment, but i love it and will probably never skate a maple again. i have also got most of my friends using them.

I think bamboo is a good option for mesic regions as it require moist climate.

I have torn out 98 year old floors in my house that needed to be replaced. I used bamboo to replace all my floors and it is fantastic.

In my country the people uses another plant named 'guadua'. This plant are very similar to bamboo: long rounded tail, strong fibres, resistance. At rural villages this plant are used to make ceilings and walls.

Plyboo (bamboo made like plywood) is a great product. See my book "Prefab Modern" for houses that incorporate this sustainable material.

I'm getting married in October, and we're trying to have a low-zero impact event. We originally wanted to elope to save even more money, effort, and be really green - but our families wanted a wedding.

Anyways, we do need some new appliances/utensils for our home and on our registries almost everything is bamboo. I've never heard anything about bamboo being "ungreen" - so if this is the case, I'd really like to know before people start getting things for us. And for our own general knowledge.

About six months ago, I had a bamboo floor installed. I am very disappointed in them.

Bamboo is ridiculously hard to keep clean for reasons I do not understand. It seems to be electro-statically charged like a television set is. We all know how a standard television attracts dust and needs to be wiped frequently. The same is true of a bamboo floor.

I do not know what brand my installer installed and thought it might be related to a poor product choice, but then I attended the Solar Decathlon on the Washington DC Mall. Every home that had bamboo installed had the same problem. I actually began pointing it out to tour guides.

Of course one could expect floors to look bad, but the problem could be seen where bamboo had been installed on the ceilings and other places.

And what about the glue that holds the bamboo together? Sure the bamboo can regenerate in four years, but glue is a key component in taking narrow bamboo pieces and making them into floor.

I also have 100 year old oak floors in my home -- they look great and don't have the same dirt problems.

Thanks

efectivamente, el calentamiento global es un hecho y nuestras autoridades no hacen nada por disminuir esta situacion y lo acabamos de ver en las noticias se estan descongelando los polos. dia con dia vemos desaparecer grandes extenciones de bosques y con ello innumerables especies de flora y fauna. es urgente crear leyes mas estrictas en beneficio de la ecologia, soy del estado de veracruz y pienso que se deberia crear una organizacion parecida a green pease pero que no cobren por afiliarse, mas bien que nos unamos para luchar por la conservacion, estoy con ustedes, desgraciadamente no se hablar ingles pero ire buscando la forma de traducir sus comentarios.

My family uses two bamboo cutting boards. We love them! I wish they didn't come from China, though. It seems like just about everything in our home comes from China. That means an exported economy and additional Chinese CO2. As for flooring, you can hardly knock the speed of growth for bamboo. 5-7 years versus decades for many trees.

I work for a company that certifies "green" products. We were asked by a client that makes a product from bamboo to certify their product as Environmenally Preferable because the bamboo it is made from is rapidly renewable. When I asked them where the bamboo comes from and how it is harvested, they told me that it is cut from swamps in China. I then asked the client if the bamboo is harvested sustainably or FSC certified, and not being clearcut and contributing to the destruction of wildlife habitat. They said they didn't know. We didn't certify them as EPP.

When buying any product made from bamboo, be sure that the bamboo is certified as a sustainably harvested material such as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification.

I have bamboo floors in 4 rooms of my house. They look great, but they do dent / scratch some. I don't really care that much about the wear, because it is cosmetic, and you don't really see the scratches too badly due to the bamboo pattern. I think the bamboo is one of the most sustainable choices. It was inexpensive compared to the other "premium" hardwoods.
I also have boxers made from bamboo!! They're softer than silk!!

bamboo - good - ha ha ha ;)

We are retrofiting a home - to be a model of environmental responsibility including new windows, roof, floors, solar energy, solar water heating,

our home will also be a healing spa, (club) with limited participation for healers to rest and teach their front end teachers -

I found Bamboo dress socks at Zellers. They are Cherokee brand and very affordable. They keep your feet dry all day. They're great!!!

I have three bamboo floors in my home. I purchased one online at ifloor.com and it isn't as durable as the two that my flooring guy installed. I don't think it's as hard as they say, (twice as hard as oak) because my dogs toenails leave marks all over it. Overall I'm happy with it tho. I also have some yoga clothes that are made of bamboo and they're very soft and drape nicely.

the floor for our yoga area will be bamboo

I have one pair of bamboo shoes that are stylish and comfortable.

I have bamboo tile flooring in my kitchen and it's great! Looks good, easy to clean, never cold and is flexible so the floor never feels hard, like ceramic tiles do -- and it was easy to install myself. My wife and I liked it so much we used it in a hallway too.

I tried a shirt made of bamboo and it's actually softer than cotton -- very comfy.

If you want to add bamboo to a garden, get the clumping form if possible. Bamboo is a nasty invasive species. It can replace native woods and is extremely difficult to eradicate. You either must dig all the runners out or use herbicide.

I put bamboo engineered flooring in four rooms of my house. It is very pretty and seems to sear well.

I love bamboo.

I am an artist, dwelling in a old , comfortable cottage alongside a cold grey river flowing out of Canada, who paints black soot ink images of bamboo using hand-crafted bamboo brushes produced in a Huang Shan ( Yellow Mountain ) village deep within Anhwei province of China. I paint on traditional hand made paper made of bamboo pulp produced by a family in a quiet village, nestled at foot of Japan's Mount Fuji.

My bamboo brushes , when not in use are held within a large, brown bamboo brush pot adorned with carved bamboo leaves from the island of Formosa.

In the evening I take out my Japanese shakuhachi ( traditional bamboo flute )and play softly the second movement of Yamamoto Hozan's , Bamboo Suite Duet ..." Young Bamboo In The Japanese Garden After Rain."

I do not have bamboo flooring .. however .. my life is grounded by bamboo and within bamboo spirit.

My friend has bamboo flooring.

Her email is .. Sherrylee-1@comcast.net
with warm regards and love for our planet,

Richard Bohn

ps.

When I was visiting Formosa I made pilgrimage to the graveside resting place of the great Chinese ink painter, Chang Dai-chien and when the gardner turned his head I plucked a single bamboo leaf from off the plant which grew from his grave .. as I whispered this short prayer .. " With this leaf of bamboo .. that grows from your eternal heart ... may your sweet spirit come into my heart now and if their be paintings left unpainted by you ... may you work through me .. and I become your favorite student .. and may I paint those unseen paintings as gift offering for the liberation of all sentient beings from suffering.

Without noticing, I discovered that a tee-shirt I purchased is composed of 67% bamboo, 28% cotton and 5% elastane.

Who would have thought clothing could be made from bamboo fibre?

Product from: Woolworths South Africa, made in Mauritius.

I have a multi-level single family home. The down-stairs is full bamboo flooring, from enterance to the kitchen. It always looks cleans and very nice textured design. I do not have pets, but seeing neighbor's house, bamboo is one thing you would not want to try. Bamboo is softer than other woods and will show any / all scratch marks or the little ding that was made from the object that fell from your hands. Bamboo does keep the temperature of the house very consistant (not too cold in winters or warm in the summers) and so it helps in your utility bills too. Try installing bamboo that is naturally treated and not with chemicals (more like made in china versions) that might emit too much formaldehyde later. Bamboo from Thailand is considered safer as it doesn't need too much treatments.

I have been working with and growing bamboo for over 30 years. Bamboo is a cut and come again plant so is renewable and is very fast growing. It can be used for numerous things and I built musical instrument, sound devices out of the culms. You can eat the shoots and screen out things you don't want to hear or look at and as others have said - it is beautiful. Everybody should be growing it and then maybe we wouldn't have to import products from China.

Last year I installed 2000 sq/ft of bamboo flooring. I have been very happy with the flooring. I am certain that there may well be bad agricultural processes and unfortunate energy transportation costs to this product. But it is more renewable than the other natural wood alternatives.

Bob has a point. Is the bamboo being taken, say, from the Gorilla's and Panda's range? I would love to support and invest in a domestic attempt to grow, harvest and create bamboo products. We use bath towels that are 70% bamboo fibre and they are the softest, most absorbent towels I've ever used. We also have some clothes made with bamboo and they too are incredibly comfortable. So much of the commerce we buy is from China and the carbon footprint is huge, so we need to think about that too.

I have installed bamboo flooring in all my bedrooms. we love the look and feel. our dogs seem to scratch it a bit so i probably wouln't recomend it in a high traffic area. i wastold the natural is harder than the "carmelized" .

I am a home textile buyer. Some of the push in the market towards going green involves bamboo fabrics which perform better than traditional cotton fibers. However what makes any natural fiber greener than another is still confusing and not measured by any accepted standards.

MI VECINO TIENE TODA LA CASA RODEADA DE BAMBU.., ESTA DE MODA EN LA DECORACION

I wonder if bamboo is considered an invasive? It grows very quickly and takes a lot of water. Those who are not responsible could in fact, create other environmental problems by introducing non native species.

Hy,all. I am from Slovakia- country in the middle Europe.I think that it is more beautiful green plants for me. I don't understand why bamboo damage the environment. Can you please tell me it? Thanks.

I want to replace the wall-to-wall carpet in our home with either bamboo flooring or other eco-friendly products.
It has been hard to find these products at prices I can afford. I wish low cost good products from good companies were easier to find. Some reasonably priced bamboo flooring products do not give enough information about their company. I worry they may not be producing their product in an environmentally and/or social friendly way.

We have a few bamboo products in our home & love them. Our bamboo sheets are wonderful-they're very soft, but most of all I love knowing the bamboo was grown w/o putting pesticides into Mother Earth. I wonder though where the bamboo came from & what conditions it was grown under. I'm imagining bamboo forests in China being cut down, shrinking the available habitat for pandas & other creatures. I hope I'm wrong-does anybody know about this?

Quite be accident I bought my first article of bamboo clothing; I didn't look at the fabric content label and bought it because I liked the feel of the fabric. I have since purchased several other pieces of clothing made from bamboo. I love the way it feels and the way it washes up. The bamboo fabric seems such a vast improvement of earlier wood pulp fabrics like rayon.

An important environmental aspect has not yet been addressed: Bamboo is an exotic species and is being planted in gardens and pubic areas in enormous quantities in USA and Latin America. The plant offers little if nothing for local fauna such as birds and insects, to the contrary the roots spread like a cancer. Domestic plants generally have more value for food for local fauna and maintaining biodiversity.

Do certain manufacturers of bamboo flooring produce a product that is more durable than others? Is all bamboo flooring made with formaldehyde and is there an emission problem?

We recently installed bamboo flooring upstairs, and we love it!

We need to use bamboo and hemp to help replace our large, slow growing coniferous forests that are being eaten alive by beetles.
Hemp and bamboo are fast growing and used by man in many ways until just recently.
Hemp got Columbus to America.
Any one have a bamboo story?
I am trying to replace all my plastic in the kitchen. Cutting boards went first when I realized I was seasoning fresh veggies with minute pieces of inedible oil product.
I now have beautiful bamboo cutting boards and am replacing plastic cooking utensils now.
Containers next.
Bamboo baggies?
Lora

We are having a great deal of trouble with a type of bamboo. It is growing into our water sources in California and taking over our precious few greenbelts in So.Cal. We have to form very work intensive work parties to weed it out of places so the native plants and animals can survive in our few natural habitats. If you can use it to make shirts and pants, please do.

Hi everyone, I actually live in a bamboo forest in China on a mountain named Moganshan. To set aside some concerns I thought I would post some facts. Dont believe everything you read about the earnings of the farmers in this supply chain. They do very well for themselves but their problem lies in the shortage of skills and labour to harvest their bamboo. Bamboo can only be cut every 2nd year in China and during this 4-6 month period farmers struggle to find the skills and personnel to help them. Mostly, it is a very aging community still harvesting and there is far more know how in this then you would imagine. In short, China's has problems with a growing wage gap between cities and farmers but I dont think this is with bamboo farmers. What is of concern is finding technology which will allow for a cheaper and more efective method of harvest to allow for the future of this wonderful product. Oh and one more thing. China does not have a never ending supply of cheap labour. This is NOT the case today. Perhaps 5-10 years ago but not today.
Grant

If you want to be green, you should keep indoor air quality in mind. Bamboo needs a lot of glue to turn it into flooring and some glues contain a lot of formaldehyde.

If you want to be green but still protect yourself, I’d suggest reclaimed wood flooring. Reclaimed wood is wood that’s been taken from old buildings when they’re torn down. It’s strong because the wood originally came from dense slow growing forests. It’s green because there’s no glue and no trees are cut down (unless you count the trees cut down 100+ years ago). I also think it looks better, but that’s just me.

We would like to have someone come and harvest ours and take it out. It takes over our yard so fast. It was originally planted for a barrier between houses out in our neighborhood. but has multiplied. We would like to know how to get rid of it and get it out of here!

Hello! I love your image of the bamboo. I was wondering if I can borrow it for my website that I'm working on. I have a little mom & pop business going here teaching Mandarin to children south of Seattle.

Thanks for your consideration!