The world of bamboo, this 100% natural product
Using bamboo instead of wood is a responsible act. With BambooTouch® you fight against deforestation and for the preservation of the planet.
“We can live without meat, but we cannot live without bamboo” said Su Dongpo, Chinese painter and poet of the Song dynasty.
50% of our planet’s forests and woodlands have disappeared in the last 100 years, and this is due to devastating logging. Despite the introduction of controls in some countries, the forest area continues to disappear at a rate of 50,000 km2 per year.-That is more than the area of Belgium. Deforestation accounts for 20% of CO2 emissions.
Bamboo is a woody grass that binds 30% more CO2 than a deciduous tree, equivalent to 12 tons of CO2/year/inhabitant. Therefore, bamboo cultivation makes a significant contribution to reducing the greenhouse effect.
The giant bamboo, also known as moso (‘Phyllostachys Pubescens’) is an inexhaustible natural resource. It is the only fast regrowing alternative against global deforestation. This naturally eco-friendly material, with ultra fast growth, does not require replanting and hardens faster than most other woods.
Bamboo can grow 30 to 50 cm per day and, once mature, reach a height of 15 to 30 meters, with a diameter of up to 35 cm.
After 5 to 6 years, moso giant bamboo is mature, compared to 50 to 70 years for oak.
Thanks to its extraordinary physical properties, giant bamboo surpasses wood and structural steel in many ways: hardness, durability, stability and elasticity. It has been used for thousands of years in Asia, where it is known as “steel grass.”
Bamboo
and the pandas
Bamboo is naturally associated with pandas, whose only food is bamboo. However, harvesting moso bamboo ‘Phyllostachys Pubescens’ does not threaten the existence of this protected species because they feed on other, lower bamboo species that are more accessible to them. Moreover, pandas are geographically far from the regions where giant bamboo is grown and exploited.
Everything you wish to achieve with wood can also be achieved with bamboo !
Wish to know more about bamboo !
- In China, some bamboo suspension bridges have a clear span of 40m.
- Bamboo is the only plant that survived in the epicentre of the atomic explosion in Hiroshima
- The incandescent filament in the first electric light bulb created by Edison was made out of bamboo
- Clothes and fabrics are made from bamboo: T-shirts, polo-shirts, cardigans, bath towels….
- The first needle for the Alexander Graham Bell’s record player was made of bamboo
- Bamboo that is broken down into pieces can be used to feed animals and fish
- There are decorated bamboo bowls that are over 1,500 years old
- The mechanical resistance of bamboo is greater than that of steel in some ways
- Certain varieties of bamboo can reach a height of 24m and a diameter of 60cm in 2 months
- Other species of bamboo grow 1 metre in 24 hours
- Bamboo forms the basis for many food products in Asia
- Wine, beer and brandy can be made from bamboo
- Bamboo is used as a medicine to treat poor circulation, asthma, kidney problems and gastritis
- Bamboo is used to manufacture desalination filters and poison for arrowheads
- Bamboo canes can be used for scaffolding for buildings
- Bamboo roots can stretch over 200km
- 5.2 million pairs of bamboo chopsticks are used to eat every day
- The destruction of rainforests is nothing to do with bamboo
- In Vietnam, bamboo is used to make toothpaste
- Bamboo is the raw material used to make lots of musical instruments in Asia
- Bamboo has successfully been converted into engine fuel
- In Australia, some surfboards are made from bamboo covered in a layer of epoxy
- Bicycles and skis are now being produced using bamboo