The Whole Bamboo Thing

My friend is getting married in the spring and since the engagement all we have done is discuss the minute details of the wedding ceremony and reception. And of course, I had to ask how my friend planned on reducing the carbon footprint of the joyous occasion. Her reply? “Bamboo, of course.”

Of course. All we hear lately is bamboo flooring is the best way to finish a green home, bamboo is a sustainable green product, bamboo can reduce your carbon impact and bamboo is prefect for the plates and cups at an outdoor spring wedding. So here’s the skinny on the whole bamboo thing.

According to bamboo advocates, planting and utilizing bamboo is the best and easiest way to help our planet recover. Bamboo grows really, really fast with new shoots every year and takes in a lot of carbon dioxide. In just two months, bamboo shoots can reach over 100 feet in height making them a great replacement for the trees in traditional western forests that take decades, even centuries to grow.

Just growing in a bamboo grove, this versatile tree is a natural sound barrier and can assist in soil erosion caused by wind or the death of other organic matter. Using bamboo for an assortment of practical uses is only new in the west. In Asia, bamboo has been a staple crop for centuries.

You can eat bamboo, make clothes out of it, use it to build the walls of your house, line your floors with it, feed it to your animals, make bags, boxes, paper, plates and cups out of its fibers. Bamboo is the new soy: a versatile natural product that helps the planet heal itself.

There are over 1,400 different species of bamboo in the world meaning that sustainable products can be grown to suit. And every site I look on, I find even more uses for this panda bear supplement. Fishing rods, bird cages, book cases, lampshades, tables, fuel, toothpicks, chopsticks, window shades, boats, fences and my current favorite: bamboo wedding invitations. It seems if you can make, eat it or wear it, it can contain bamboo.

This planet needs a little help to breathe and if buying bamboo at a reasonable price will do it, well, pass the shoot fiber plate please.