Go Greener Tips

Ok, so the original Bamboo PC was just a gimmick. The laptop launched at the Hanover computer fair last March, with a laminated bamboo casing around a pretty conventional computer won’t make a dent in the rising tide of plastics sold around the world.

But it was a little demonstration of what can be done, and, if proof of bamboo’s versatility were required, consider it proven.

Surely bamboo must be the only plant that is a source of building materials, clothing and food. One of Edison’s early light bulbs had a carbonised bamboo filament. Its strength, resilience and cheapness make it a widely used scaffolding material throughout Asia. Fibres from bamboo poles are extremely strong, it both tension and compression terms. It’s compressive strength works out around twice that of concrete, bamboo also has the same tensile strength to weight ratio as steel. And now there’s a bamboo laptop!

Bamboo will please anyone whose buying eco-friendly home furnishings. For a start, bamboo is an extremely sustainable material. Some species of bamboo grow at more than a metre every day. The locals that live close to these fantastic plants are able top cut down as much bamboo as they need while still having the same sized forest at the end of the year as they did at the beginning. As for the global warming question, because the bamboo is a plant, anything that’s been made from it contains a large proportion of atmospheric carbon. Any plastic equivalent has added to the atmosphere’s carbon level!

Another point is that because bamboo is a plant source, there are many variations between two plants, these variations make it a difficult material to use in a mass production process. This means that when buying a bamboo product, you can be quite sure that it’s been hand crafted. If you go to a reputable source you’ll also know that the craftsman got a fair wage for his or her work, and that no one was exploited by western buying power. The last thing is that you can be sure that your purchased product won’t have accumulated any air miles since it’s creation.

With eco credentials this strong, it’s a surprise bamboo built products are so beautiful. Picture a skilfully made bamboo box, lovingly lacquered with 15 layers of natural shellac. Stylish and all natural at the same time. I myself bought a fantastic, hand-crafted bamboo knife block and am seriously considering following suit with other bamboo bamboo knife block such as fruit bowls. Stylish and ethical. Win.