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OK, so the Bamboo PC it was a gimmick. The laptop launched at the Hanover computer fair last March, with a laminated bamboo casing around a pretty conventional computer won’t make a dent in the rising tide of plastics sold around the world.

Although the bamboo computers won’t make a huge difference to the environment, it did prove how versatile material really is.

Bamboo must be the only plant on the planet that is a source of food, works as building materials and woven fabrics. Even one of Edison’s original light bulbs had a bamboo filament. Due to bamboo being so strong and cheap, it has become a widely used product for scaffolding in parts of Asia. The fibres within bamboo poles have both high tension strength, as well as high compression strength. Its compressive strength is roughly twice that of concrete and bamboo has roughly the same tensile strength to weight ratio as steel. Now there’s even a bamboo laptop!

Products made of bamboo ticks most boxes for anyone buying green home furnishings. For a start, bamboo is an extremely sustainable material. There are a number of bamboo species that are able to grow over a metre each day. Local people can cut down as much as they need for carving, weaving, sawing or splitting and still have as big a forest at the end of the year as they had at the start. On the global warming sides of things, being a plant, any product made from bamboo contains a large amount of atmospheric carbon within it. Whereas any equivalent product made from plastic actually increases the carbon level in the atmosphere!

Another point; due to bamboo being a natural material, it has a number of variations in quality, size and appearance, all of these differences make it difficult to work with as part of a mass production line. You can be pretty sure that a craftsman has produced any bamboo item you buy. Also, if you were to buy from a reputable source, you’ll have peace of mind that the craftsman got a fair share of the profits. Finally you’ll be sure that the product you buy hasn’t accumulated air miles in its journey from craftsman to your home.

With eco credentials as strong as these it’s amazing that bamboo products can also be very beautiful. Picture a skilfully made bamboo box, lovingly lacquered with 15 layers of natural shellac. All natural, and really lovely. Only the other day, I bought an amazingly crafted bamboo knife block and I’m seriously considering purchasing other bamboo kitchen accessories such as salad bowls. Stylish and ethical. Win.

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