One of the things which characterizes bamboo flooring is how well the process makes the most of natural resources and how it’s generally known as an environmentally-conscious choice when shopping for flooring. And one of the things I always come across when thinking about bamboo are stories about how the imaginations of people have been fired up to the point where they take a crazy idea, turn it into a reality, and sort of transform it into something which isn’t so crazy after all. I’m mean when you think about it, making a tall grass into a floor sounds absurd, doesn’t it? Yet, look how popular bamboo floors have become.
Luckily, bamboo flooring is just one example of green thinking, and execution. I’ve had a lot of fun finding out about things like this. This time around, I’ve discovered a number of stories about where are being called ‘people-powered gyms’, which are what they say they are on the tin. Remember that episode of the Muppet Show, when Doctor Bunsen Honeydew of Muppet Labs hooks his assistant Beaker up to a treadmill to keep the power on at the Muppet Theatre - ‘Beaker Power’?
No?
Well, the idea of a people-powered gym works just like that, although no ferocious tigers are released to make tired treadmill users run faster when the lights start dimming (unlike Beaker’s situation). No, the power in the building is still running about 60%-70% by traditional means, with the people in the gym making up the difference.
I was perusing articles and blogs, as I normally do and a title of one article caught my eye - Bamboo’s bad reputation belies it’s usefulness printed in Austin, Texas-based Statesman.com. Besides the use of the word “belies” in a major news publication headline (a great underused word!), I was struck by what is meant by “bad reputation”. Well, bamboo has a bad reputation in the world of gardening, as it turns out. Bamboo is a tenacious plant. Since it is so tenacious, it’s hard to remove once it’s in there.
The author of the article, in trying to see about removing it from his backyard, discovered just how tough this plant actually is. He found out how its strength has been utilized in the past, and how bamboo may be a solution to all kinds of problems in the future, too. In short, he gained a new respect for it. And bamboo is a pretty incredible plant, even when talking about products made from it. I’m not just talking about flooring here. Bamboo is used for the manufacturing of a great many products, from furniture to clothing. Yet, it’s also a crop which revitalizes soil, and offers an incredibly efficient means of removing CO2 from the air, arguably better than many trees. The article even references research into bamboo bio fuel.
It seems to me that the bamboo plant was made for modern life, even though it has a pretty large role in ancient history too - building, artwork, even philosophy and religious traditions have employed bamboo in some way. And harvesting bamboo is like cutting your lawn, since bamboo is a type of grass which is incredibly fast growing (like your lawn). And what’s more, it seems to have an application in nearly every area of life, from alternative fuels, textiles, framing for temporary housing after natural disasters, and on to bringing alternative crops to underdeveloped areas of the world. It is an absolutely amazing plant, which people and organizations are rightly turning toward in this age of environmental crisis.
For more information about bamboo in general, check out this site, which is an ‘everything you need to know’ Squiddo lens about the bamboo species. And please tell me what you think!
Yesterday, I kind of alluded to the reticence of a lot of consumers when it comes to buying green building materials like bamboo flooring for their renovations. So as not to make anyone think that I’m trying to paint a portrait of unthinking, unfeeling consumers out there, I thought I’d share a few more thoughts about the issues, and of course another article about buying green building materials.
One thing which this article, as featured in Kitchen & Bath Design News, brings out is the idea that buying green really can be a bit of a maze to get one’s way through. Even in my article about greenwashing, I pointed out that there are many false trails to go down when you’re looking to buy flooring, bamboo floors or otherwise. There is so much information out there, some of which is contradictory and even biased, that makes researching green building products like bamboo flooring a big challenge.
But, there are consulting firms out there that are trying to make this easier for the consumer who’s looking to make smart buying choices. The article talks with Alison Shoemaker who operates such a consulting firm, Alison Designs in the Marina Del Ray CA area, who reinforces the idea that buying green doesn’t necessarily mean spending more, or getting inferior performance from your flooring, or other building materials.
As it has been proven (and talked about at length here on this very blog…), bamboo flooring is a hardy, long-lasting, and attractive flooring choice, for instance. It proves that green does not mean wimpy. And the demand for it is rising because more and more people are finding out about it - and so it’s no more expensive than many types of domestic hardwoods as a result. This is what it’s all about when looking to by green: gaining an education in what’s really out there, which is where Alison (and other firms like hers) come in to get that process of consumer education going before a project commences.
When it comes to buying green flooring, it’s still your project, even if you’ve also hired a consultant to help guide your choices. It pays to ask the right questions of those sellers you’re thinking of buying from, even if you’ve decided on the type of green flooring to buy. Maybe self-education when it comes to buying green flooring isn’t a new idea to most seasoned consumers. Yet, with all of the eco-friendly bandwagon jumping, it becomes a big priority if you’re looking to buy with the issues in mind.
Cheers,
Rob.
Path through the bamboo forest (kind of a metaphor for making your way through buying green building materials, I thought …) courtesy of Augapfel.
As mentioned in other posts on this here blog, bamboo flooring is the choice of the green consumer, which is made even more of an advantage because of how widespread its popularity is. One advantage that bamboo floors have in terms of their appeal to consumers is that they seem to embody all that is good in a green product, while also escaping the stigmas too. I think this is because bamboo floors get by very easily on their own merits, much like any traditional choice in flooring does.
On a more general scale, products like bamboo which are considered to be ‘green’ are also assumed to be more expensive, less available, and less reliable. Bamboo floors are none of these, and they tend to escape this green product stigma. They’re not looked upon as being a compromise by most consumers. You know some of the more obvious advantages of bamboo flooring; a unique look, great durability, easy to clean, and because of increased demand, tend to be less expensive than one might think.
The point is this; no one settles for bamboo, they choose it. They’re not anyone’s ugly sister in the flooring world, in other words. To be fair, I think that there are a lot of green products which stand on their own merits just like bamboo flooring does. But, there is that stigma that green products are specialized items not meant to serve general usage as well as stalwart traditional products.
I found this article about green products in Bakersfield California. This part of the world is a fairly traditional consumer market that is also plagued with some pretty bad air quality. The article centres around the opening of a new store which specializes in green products called Fresh and Green. One of the challenges they face is that it seems that people are still wary of looking for alternatives, even in the face of unhealthy environments.
One of the most telling parts of the article is the qualifier that they feel they have to make - that ‘we’re not hippies’. It’s kind of funny in a way, but not so funny in another. Environmental concerns are no longer the sole property of spacey, dreadlocked vegetarians wearing hemp dresses. They are everyone’s concern and will be for a long time. As the article points out, this isn’t just a market trend; it’s life. Making choices when shopping for anything with this idea in mind is becoming more and more of a going concern. And it’s great that there are more and more choices in a variety of areas that consumers can count on. Bamboo flooring is certainly among them when it comes to interior design.
But the real sale that matters is the idea that consumerist culture and environmental concerns are becoming more and more closely tied. So it’s to our advantage to buy now, and buy often.
My name’s Rob and I’ve drifted over here from the wood flooring blog because I came across a great article about a pretty prevalent trend in the flooring industry; greenwashing. It talks a lot about bamboo flooring in particular, so I thought I’d share it with you here. You can read the article here.
Greenwashing is a new word for an old concept. It borrows from the older term ‘whitewashing’, but effectively meaning the same thing. The subject of green building and consumer interest in buying eco-friendly products is an equally prevalent series of issues in recent years. For many companies, this is a chance to take advantage of these concerns by framing their products as ‘environmentally-friendly’ without providing corroborating evidence. Certain facts are modified or left out entirely as a means of making consumers think that what they’re buying will be eco-friendly, when there is actually more to consider. Some firms even use pseudo-science in press releases and newsletters as a means of making it seem as though products are ‘green’, even if the whole picture isn’t being explained. I suppose they feel it will all come out in the wash - unless their consumers actually do some research on their own!
The attached article talks specifically about bamboo flooring, which is considered green not only by organizations like the U.S Green Building Council, but also in the perceptions of the public. Even within this wide acceptance, the green quality of bamboo floors can vary slightly, depending on the manufacturer and how they conduct the process of creating bamboo flooring.
Questions of binding agents, pollutants to the air, the environmental cost of shipping goods around the world, all play into how a product is judged as being green. Where I believe that bamboo flooring is one of most environmentally-responsible flooring choice there is due to undeniable natural advantages that are easily observed and measured, the article makes the point that ‘green’ should really be judged as a continuum, not by a column A or B model.
What the also article says, and what I agree with, is that consumers shouldn’t trust solely in the labels that claim products to be green, nor should they necessarily believe everything they read through corporate communications. What they should do is ask questions of their own of the sellers making the claim to make sure that their money invested in supposedly ‘green products’ is actually money well spent. I believe that companies and industry bodies who are willing to engage in this dialogue are probably the least likely to be opportunists riding the green bandwagon in order to make a fast buck.
I hope you get something out of the attached article. And I hope you get something out of my own musings here. I’ll be popping over here a little bit more frequently, as I’ve discovered a number of interesting sites and articles which may be of some interest to you. Talk to you again! And feel free to leave comments to tell me how right I am - or how wrong (but be nice, I bruise easily…)
While the death tolls rise from the massive earthquake last Monday in China so does the support being sent to the area. The Chinese government deployed 100,000 troops to the hardest hit regions. To put the magnitude of this number into prospective the US government sent 17000 troops to the Gulf after Katrina hit in 2005.
It is understandable that the traditional bamboo colours, Natural and Carbonized, are not for everyone. If this is the case for you why not look for a stained bamboo product?? The natural shade of the raw material is a perfect canvas to apply stain to. Here are some of examples of the colours that are offered.
It is a sad day, as a 7.9 magnitude earthquake has ripped through the Sichuan Province in China. With many friends on the other side of the Pacific and the death toll approaching 9000, my thoughts are with them….
I doesn’t take a Rocket Scientist (and believe me I’m no Rocket Scientist) to figure out that the US is currently in a recession and the dollar is dropping a furious pace, as shown in the, 3 month, Chinese Yuan to USD graph above. To be honest up until 5 years ago I didn’t know the Chinese currency was call the Yuan. Now with its direct influence on Bamboo prices I watch it daily. Prior to June 05 the USD and the Yuan we linked and flucuated together but since then the USD has depreciated 18% and continues to go lower……
The impact of this can be seen in the increase of Bamboo Flooring prices.
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The author of the article, in trying to see about removing it from his backyard, discovered just how tough this plant actually is. He found out how its strength has been utilized in the past, and how bamboo may be a solution to all kinds of problems in the future, too. In short, he gained a new respect for it. And bamboo is a pretty incredible plant, even when talking about products made from it. I’m not just talking about flooring here. Bamboo is used for the manufacturing of a great many products, from furniture to clothing. Yet, it’s also a crop which revitalizes soil, and offers an incredibly efficient means of removing CO2 from the air, arguably better than many trees. The article even references research into 
But, there are consulting firms out there that are trying to make this easier for the consumer who’s looking to make smart buying choices. The article talks with Alison Shoemaker who operates such a consulting firm,
On a more general scale, products like bamboo which are considered to be ‘green’ are also assumed to be more expensive, less available, and less reliable. Bamboo floors are none of these, and they tend to escape this green product stigma. They’re not looked upon as being a compromise by most consumers. You know some of the more obvious advantages of bamboo flooring; a unique look, great durability, easy to clean, and because of increased demand, tend to be less expensive than one might think.
Greenwashing is a new word for an old concept. It borrows from the older term ‘whitewashing’, but effectively meaning the same thing. The subject of green building and consumer interest in buying eco-friendly products is an equally prevalent series of issues in recent years. For many companies, this is a chance to take advantage of these concerns by framing their products as ‘environmentally-friendly’ without providing corroborating evidence. Certain facts are modified or left out entirely as a means of making consumers think that what they’re buying will be eco-friendly, when there is actually more to consider. Some firms even use pseudo-science in press releases and newsletters as a means of making it seem as though products are ‘green’, even if the whole picture isn’t being explained. I suppose they feel it will all come out in the wash - unless their consumers actually do some research on their own!
