Jun 11 2008
Is bamboo really green?
There is a good article at Slate.com by Brendan I Koerner exploring the true “Greenness” of Bamboo flooring. The scale of production, methods or harvest, assembly and transportation all impact what is considered by most to be the “green” alternative to traditional hardwood floors.
Bamboo does have loads of green potential. But as is usually the case when it comes to crops, much depends on how the bamboo is managed, harvested, and ultimately made into flooring. Many producers assume that consumers won’t pay attention to such behind-the-scenes details and will be dazzled by smooth-talking salesman who toss around words like “sustainability” and “sequestration.”
…bamboo’s environmental edge can evaporate if the stuff is heedlessly grown. Given the recent vogue for bamboo among Western consumers, producers in Asia (specifically China’s Hunan Province) have been aggressive with their planting, often at the expense of old woodlands and their attendant ecosystems. To goose their yields, these plantations employ plenty of fertilizers and pesticides, thereby negating one of bamboo’s primary advantages.
