Exploring bamboo sustainability and the economic potential of bamboo to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods.
We know you love the positive environmental impact of bamboo, and so do we! It's no secret this super plant is a friend to our planet. It has incredible qualities that make it a significant force in our battle against climate change and our quest for sustainable home solutions.
What Makes Bamboo Sustainable?
Sustainable materials are renewable resources that can be maintained at a certain rate for a long period of time. When a material is sustainable, it also means resourcing it doesn't directly harm the environment. Bamboo checks those boxes.
Bamboo is a highly sustainable natural renewable resource, and its sustainability starts with the way it grows.
When it comes to fast-growing, no plant matches bamboo. Some species of bamboo can grow feet in just one day. Because of its fast growth rate, bamboo reaches maturity very quickly. Hardwood trees that are typically used for paper goods, other household products, and building materials take years to mature before they renew.
Replenishing a bamboo crop versus a hardwood tree stand takes significantly less time.
This isn't the only reason bamboo is considered a highly sustainable resource. The process of harvesting bamboo also contributes to bamboo's sustainability.
Bamboo is often mistakenly considered a tree, but it's not at all. Bamboo is actually classified as grass. Because of this, harvesting bamboo doesn't require the roots or soil to be disrupted.
Once bamboo has been cut, it doesn't require replanting for a new crop to emerge. New bamboo growth will occur out of its existing root systems.
These qualities make bamboo a desirable resource, but perhaps an even more impressive aspect of its sustainability is the impact bamboo has on our environment.
Bamboo Eco-Friendly Characteristics
No soil disruption during harvesting means that native soil ecosystems remain intact. Biodiversity isn't at risk, unlike harvesting hardwood trees that disrupt delicate habitats.
It’s vital that sustainable land use practices are more widely used to help combat erosion. (1) Those solid root systems do just that; they help to hold healthy soil in its place. And because it regenerates from its original roots, it takes less water to ensure it will experience successful growth.
Bamboo also releases more oxygen into the atmosphere. Planting bamboo crops means over thirty percent more oxygen will be released as compared to a tree cluster of similar size. Bamboo is also an excellent absorber of carbon dioxide.
With bamboo, there are no harmful pesticides or chemical fertilizers needed for optimal growth. A bamboo stand will thrive naturally, making it a superior crop when it comes to keeping toxic waste run-off out of our soil and water.
Bamboo is an incredibly sustainable material that's eco-friendly and also highly versatile! There are endless ways that bamboo can be utilized.
Different Applications of Bamboo
Bamboo offers an alternative to plastic and other materials that lead to increased waste and are harmful to our environment. The bamboo industry is expanding to include everything from household items to building infrastructure.
Bamboo is becoming a popular choice for:
- Drinking straws to replace plastic ones
- Paper products (toilet paper is our favorite!)
- Textiles such as fabric for clothing and sheets
- A durable flooring alternative
- A replacement of traditional timber in building
Reality of Bamboo Products and Sustainability
Bamboo products are bringing sustainability to households like never before. The reality is that bamboo can contribute to your sustainable lifestyle goals, while still allowing you to enjoy a top-quality household necessity.
Buying sustainable helps reduce all of those harmful greenhouse gasses we know are emitted into the atmosphere by human activity. A sustainable product's carbon footprint is substantially less than goods produced traditionally.
Ideally, every part of its production lessens the impact on the planet. Sustainable items produce less waste, reduce energy consumption, and protect our valuable natural resources.
That's why at ecoHiny our product is made with nothing but 100% bamboo.
Buying eco-friendly bamboo products means you're an eco-conscious consumer who's helping to combat climate change and working to put a stop to deforestation. However, buying bamboo has other implications that you might not have considered.
Bamboo itself can be a highly sustainable crop, but there's a social side to this sustainable super plant that we're proud to be a part of.
A Sustainable Solution to Poverty
Farming bamboo has emerged as a promising solution for fighting poverty in many regions of the world. More than ten percent of the global population live in poverty. (2) The plant's versatility and growing widespread demand in various industries make it an extremely profitable crop to cultivate with the potential to
Farmers who take up bamboo farming can enjoy a reliable source of income while also contributing to the sustainable development of their communities. Bamboo is especially powerful in places where farm production has been adversely affected by drought and climate change.
For millions, bamboo has huge potential to alleviate poverty while improving quality of life and adding positives to the environment!
Bamboo has promising economic potential because it is:
- One of the most valuable non-timber products on the planet
- Rising in popularity
- Potentially useful in many industries and markets
- An easy-to-grow crop that requires little maintenance
- Fast-growing, yielding consistent income from year-round crops
- Able to thrive in a variety of situations, which helps particularly in regions affected by climate change and other weather events
We're talking about a crop that does it all!
Bamboo and a Better Way of Life
Although bamboo toilet paper is our favorite use of this amazing plant, its other uses prove to be important in improving quality of life.
Aside from providing household income in these areas, bamboo crops offer a sustainable, reliable material capable of many uses, with housing material topping the list.
Unfortunately, many regions lack access to survival essentials such as shelter, food, clothing, water, and sanitation. Poor infrastructure is an additional hindrance in most cases.
These areas are most susceptible to housing loss due to events caused by climate change, leaving many without adequate shelter and exposed to extreme elements.
Sustainable construction with bamboo materials can enable impoverished communities to upgrade their infrastructure and provide suitable housing. Bamboo can be used in a variety of ways, including as a construction material, for erosion control, and as a biofuel source. Its versatility makes it a valuable resource for infrastructure projects of all kinds.
Bamboo's strength and durability make it an ideal material for constructing bridges, roads, and buildings. (3) Bamboo can also be used to create lightweight structures and is easily transported to remote locations, making it a great choice for projects in rural areas where access to heavy equipment and materials may be limited.
Bamboo structures can be constructed quickly and efficiently, providing a cost-effective and practical solution for infrastructure needs.
It's an ideal choice for projects that are focused on sustainability and reducing the impact of construction on the environment, but also for providing a sensible solution to impoverished areas that stand to benefit from infrastructure upgrades.
ecoHiny's Commitment
Forests for All Forever is the motto of the Forest Stewardship Council, and we're behind it 100%! We're FSC certified, and here's why that matters.
The Forest Stewardship Council sets standards for responsible forest management. Their mission is to preserve and protect our forests for future generations.
Sustainability has three pillars: people, planet, and purpose. These three pillars represent the social awareness, environmental responsibility, and economic goals of manufacturing a product. These are part of the focus of the guiding principles set forth by the FSC. (4)
Following them means ecoHiny bamboo is resourced responsibly and helps promote positive social, environmental, and economic impacts of bamboo farming.
Guiding Principles of the Forest Stewardship Council:
- Forest management will respect all applicable laws of the host country.
- Rights to the land must be clearly defined and legally established.
- The legal and customary rights of indigenous people shall be recognized and respected.
- Operations must enhance the long-term social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities.
- The forest's products and services should be used to ensure economic success that includes environmental and social benefits.
- Ecological functions and integrity of the forest must be maintained.
- A management plan shall be written, kept up to date, and include clearly stated long-term objectives.
- The condition of the forest and its yields, as well as management activities and their social and environmental impacts will be monitored.
- Any activities in high conservation value forests must maintain or enhance their attributes.
- Plantations must abide by principles 1-9 and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forests.
With the help of the Forest Stewardship Council, our farming and harvesting of bamboo for ecoHiny toilet paper help boost the earning potential of local communities. Ethical practices that focus on the social and economic impacts of bamboo farming mean a win for more than just the environment!
When You Choose ecoHiny You Impact the Planet and Poverty
We're proud to present a product that has the potential to do so much good in the world! Bamboo is the best for alleviating the environmental impact of traditional toilet paper production, but bamboo farming can do so much more.
When this sustainable super crop is sourced with socioeconomic concerns in mind, it has the power to bring stability and prosperity to regions that need it most.
- Saeb Khresat. Deforestation effect on soil quality and climate change [Abstract]. In: Geophysical Research Abstracts; 2010.
- "Poverty." United Nations Global Impact, unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/our-work/social/poverty.
- Vyas, Kashyap. "Bamboo as a Replacement to Steel." Interesting Engineering, interestingengineering.com/innovation/bamboo-as-a-replacement-to-steel.
- "FSC Standards." Forest Stewardship Council, fsc.org/en/fsc-standards.
