Bamboo has become an essential material for sustainability in society. Its versatility provides us with many of our daily household items such as toothbrushes, combs, hairbrushes as well as furniture.

And strangely, it’s not even a tree but a grass.

Bamboo has grown in popularity over recent years due to it being the fastest-growing natural resource on the planet.

However, the use of bamboo isn’t a recent thing. It’s been used in society for more than 7000 years for such things as paper, building materials, books and arrows. These days it’s even used for building homes.

In Bali and Indonesia, bamboo is widely used for large-scale buildings. It’s incredibly strong and can withstand earthquakes better than concrete.

Bamboo and the Environment

Bamboo can grow at an amazing rate, reaching its optimum size in just 60 days. Which makes it an ideal resource for everyday products.

Thanks to the way it’s harvested, bamboo rarely needs replanting, which means fewer resources are used for maintenance.

No pesticides or chemical fertilizers are used in the growing of bamboo, so there is no negative impact on the surrounding environment.

It also produces 35% more oxygen than most trees which is another reason to grow and cultivate bamboo plants.

Bamboo grows in tropical and subtropical climates that have a moderate temperatures. The main area of bamboo growth is in Asia but it can also be found growing in the southern parts of the USA.

Bamboo is imported to the UK, Europe and often the USA from places in Asia and while this transport does create an impact on the environment, it’s worth it, thanks to the many eco-friendly aspects of bamboo.

Bamboo For Your Bathroom

At f.e.t.e we produce a range of bamboo bathroom accessories, from toothbrushes to hair brushes. Our bamboo toothbrushes come in many different colours to bring some vibrance to your bathroom. The handles are coloured with a natural resin paint, a type of plant-based paint – this allows you to compost your toothbrush handle and means you don’t need to worry if your little one chews on the wrong end of their toothbrush!

Bamboo and Pandas

Though the panda’s main source of food consists of 25 different species of bamboo, none of those species is used for sustainable products. At “from earth to earth”, we use a species called mosu – a species not eaten by pandas because typically, the leaves are too high up for the pandas to reach. This means we’re not taking away the panda’s source of food. So we’re maintaining balance in the environment.

Bamboo and Health

Bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-fungal which protects it against harm and allows it to grow without the need for pesticides.

Composting Bamboo

Once you’re done with your bamboo product, it can be put in your compost. And though bamboo is rot-resistant (which is why it works great for a bamboo toothbrush), it will eventually break down and decompose with the help of the little animals in our soil.

The time it takes to decompose depends on the method you use.

Generally, it takes 4-6 months to decompose bamboo in a compost.  It’s important to remember to keep your compost warm and moist for faster results. It also helps to break the bamboo item into smaller pieces as this will speed up the composting process.

Bamboo can also be buried in your garden and this will take up to 3 years to decompose (it can be faster, depending on how small the item is.)

The third option is to throw your bamboo in the organic waste if your area provides this option. They have special facilities that are designed for faster composting, usually taking a matter of weeks to break down and decompose.

10 Uses of Bamboo

1. Building Houses, schools and other buildings
2. Constructing Roads and bridges
3. Medicines
4. Used to create fabric that can be made into clothes
5. Fashion Accessories
6. Food
7. Bathroom accessories such as toothbrushes, cotton buds, hairbrushes and interdental brushes.
8. Scaffolding
9. Furniture
10. Paper

Discover the different bamboo products that F.E.T.E has to offer.