There are so many reasons to love bamboo - as a plant or as a material, here are just a few highlights that show how exceptional bamboo is and why you’ll find it in over a dozen items in our collections.
Bamboo is so much more than just a lovely plant.
Maybe you’ve had or have a bamboo shoot nestled amongst your plant babies. Did you know that it is actually a type of grass? It’s part of the plant family, Poaceae and there are many varieties of bamboo. Although we may associate it with more tropical climates (and perhaps images of cute Pandas chomping on it) - this intelligent and low maintenance plant is able to be grown in many climates and locations around the world.
So let’s talk about the magic of how Bamboo grows…
1. Get Rooted
You cut a tree down - it may take upwards of 100 years to grow back to a harvest worthy size depending on the varietal. But remember - bamboo is a grass!
Once the poles are trimmed, it’s more like a fresh haircut for this plant with the roots (called rhizomes) undisturbed because of the resilient rhizome system.
The result? No excess tilling, soil erosion or disruption aka soil conservation. Why is this important? Water absorption along with the plant & soil stability remaining intact.
2. Rapid Growth
Maybe it’s an overachiever. Maybe it doesn’t know any other way because it’s bamboo. But it is known as one of the fastest growing plants (*cough grasses cough*) on the planet! They can grow 24 inches+ a DAY!
Because they’re living their best fast-growing life, this can reduce the need for traditional hardwood forest cultivation.
Not only that, according to The Guardian, bamboo weighs in with producing 35% more oxygen than a tree of equivalent mass. Its carbon absorption capacity is reported to be as much as 12 tonnes/hectare per year.
We love that for us.
3. Maintenance
This is an accessible & low-maintenance crop for bamboo farmers because of its capacity to regenerate on its own, while also being able to thrive in shallow or rocky soil.
Bonus: harmful pesticides and complex fertilizers need not apply.
Strong Like Bamboo
We found a wild stat to take in. Are you ready?
According to Interesting Engineering, bamboo has a tensile strength of 28,000 lbs/ square inch in comparison to steel (tensile strength of 23,000 lbs/ square inch. Aka it is stronger than steel.
Whoa.
If you think about the traditional climates bamboo is grown in, it’s resilient amidst constant moisture, harsh winds, tropical or intense storms, intense temperatures, etc. People have been using bamboo to eat, to make tools with and build with for thousands of years. Its durability was put to good use in the earliest suspension bridges in China.
Bamboo Versatility
Pick your bamboo ingenuity - you can choose between building materials, furniture, tooth brushes, panty hose, clothes… or with us, you’re looking at textiles.
Like any sustainable ‘trend,’ the cultivation of bamboo or the air travel footprint isn’t perfect, and there is always room for exploitation of the makers or the environment (mono-cultures have their own risks, along with the risk of cash crop developments).
It is an exceptionally sustainable material and renewable resource in comparison to synthetic materials, which is our biggest takeaway, and a huge reason why we opt for bamboo in some of our fabric blends,as well as it being weaved into our Bali Boho Home collection thanks to our fair trade artisan partners.
Why We Love Bamboo in Our Collections
In a nutshell:
- It’s highly breathable & It’s stretchier than cotton in your textile
- It feels so silky smooth on your skin when in fabric
- It can blend with high thread counts to create a thin & strong material for textiles
- It is durable, care is easy and lends to our versatile design
Some of our most popular textiles are our bamboo blends, and come with 5 star reviews!With our newest Bali Boho home collection, it’s weaved into a few brand new items thanks to our independent Indonesian artisan partners - handmade one by one!
If you’ve come this far, and you’re interested in the possibility of adding this exceptional material into your home, you can find it in:
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