Posts Tagged ‘bamboo’

Replace Your Wooden Cutting Board with Bamboo

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

No one wants their food prepared on a dirty, bacteria-infested surface, so why are you still using that raggedy old cutting board?

Let’s face it; we probably don’t invest as much time in our cutting board collection as we should. We grab out a board, cut up our meat, fish, veggies or fruits and then toss it in the dishwasher. I have a mix of cutting boards in my cabinets: Thick plastic, thin plastic, wood and stone.

Yet without proper care and cleaning, cutting boards can harbor a lot of bacteria that can seep into our foods. While chances are slim that the bacteria will be enough to “taint” the food, there is always the possibility that it can make us sick.

There have been some conflicting statements about wood or plastic being the better choice. Many believe that germs and bacteria can seep into the cracks of the wood and breed like crazy, whereas they are more easily cleaned off plastic cutting boards. Yet some people can’t help but like the professional and trendy appearance of wood boards, especially if they’re left out on a countertop.

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution: Bamboo. Bamboo cutting boards look like wooden ones, and they’re super strong and dense so you won’t cut through the board. A little natural cleaner is all you need to wipe down the surface, and bamboo is naturally resistant to bacteria and mold. Best of all, bamboo boards are attractive in design, eco-friendly and affordable, making them welcome in almost any kitchen.

Don’t think that the uses for bamboo stop here. Bamboo can be used for cutlery, flooring, sheets, clothing and yes – panda food. Next time you’re shopping for wood, consider bamboo as a fresh alternative, even  in the kitchen.

Image Source: fantes.com

 

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Bamboo Flooring for a Sustainable Home

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

If you’re planning on upgrading your home with new floors, the abundance of flooring choices can be overwhelming. Hardwood is a popular choice, as it’s beautiful, elegant and designed to last forever. Even though wood is made from a renewable resource, it takes 10 to 50 years for trees to grow back.

Flooring companies are taking active steps toward manufacturing green hardwood floors, where the timber comes from well-managed forests that protect wildlife and use few chemicals. Even so, there is a better option for flooring that is both beautiful and sustainable: Bamboo.

Bamboo flooring is growing in popularity and has only been in the scene for the past decade. It’s a type of grass that has a short growth cycle, which means it’s very renewable and can be harvested in 5 to 7 years. It requires few chemicals to thrive and will start regrowing as soon as it’s been cut down. This means that there’s no need to replant the bamboo and use harmful fertilizers or chemicals.

Naturally beautiful, bamboo flooring is moderately priced and will turn your home into something magnificent. There are some features to look for however, such as the hardness rating of the bamboo. While it only takes a few years for the bamboo to grow, it takes more time for the plant to harden, making it more durable.

Second, the type of finish used on the flooring should be evaluated. To make the bamboo floorboards stronger, there may be harmful chemicals and VOC’s used on the exterior, making for unhealthy indoor air quality. The manufacturer should use as few chemicals as possible, including limited formaldehyde.

Image c/o bamboofurniture1.com

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Happy Underwear Day! Wear Bamboo

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Today is National Underwear Day. It was started several years ago by Freshpair.com, and since its inception, it’s gone from a NYC-based fashion show and freebie giveaway to a national event and online sensation. So what does underwear have to do with saving trees?

The answer: underwear gives us another chance to be eco-friendly. Bamboo, which we wrote about in a previous article, can be used to make fabric, which is then used to make, among other things, underwear. And to hear some tell it, the underwear made from bamboo is superior to the usual kind. It dries quickly, lets your skin breathe, and feels as comfortable (or more so) than other fabrics.

Worried about style? Don’t be. Bamboo fabric is so versatile and is becoming so widely accepted that you can find cute, sexy styles in bamboo underwear, making your earth-friendly shopping as stylish as usual.

Bamboo is such a great, sustainable resource with such a low impact on the environment that we really should try to use it whenever we can as as substitute for wood and other materials. Embracing bamboo underwear is just one step on that path, and for National Underwear Day, there are few better ways to celebrate!

You can also help preserve trees by signing up for the onemilliontrees movement, sponsored by Privacy Council. Save at least a tree a year by cutting down your junk mail. You’ll do yourself and the environment a favor!

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Zambikes turns bamboo into a boon for Africans

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

bambooBamboo is the fastest-growing woody plant in the world. It’s extremely renewable, has a low impact on the environment and is being used for everything from flooring to fabric. And now, it’s got another purpose: helping developing economies grow by giving African workers some practical skills and a product to export.

Zambikes is a bicycle company that was created with this mission: to provide high-quality bicycles and educational training to underprivileged and service-based Zambians. After working out a deal with a California-based bicycle maker who developed a bamboo bicycle frame, the company is now starting to grow and make bamboo bicycle frames in Africa and export them to the U.S. As the BBC reports, the lack of training, raw materials, capital and tools in Zambia have made such an endeavor almost unheard of in the past, but thanks to the strength and renewability of bamboo grown right in the country (as well as the efforts of both Zambians and Americans working together to create workshops in Africa), Zambikes’ bamboo endeavors are taking off.

Bamboo, as it turns out, is a great material for bike frames. It has shock absorbing properties and is tough and durable. Interest in the bamboo bikes is already high in the U.S., so the company is poised to start seeing some financial benefit. But that’s not the only return that Zambikes provides; the company also helps Africans directly in the form of business coaching and discretionary loans. The company doesn’t even charge interest on the loans; rather, it simply asks the borrowers to show that what they do with the money will somehow benefit the community.

So look for eco-friendly Zambikes on the road and in bike shops soon… You can even get one yourself! A Zambike bamboo bicycle costs roughly $900 for a finished bike. And best of all, owning one means helping developing economies and the environment.

If you want to help the environment in other ways, sign up for the onemilliontrees movement, sponsored by the Privacy Council. You can save a tree every year by cutting your junk mail!

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