Bamboo use surges, but eco-credentials questioned

The product has grown to more than 5 percent of the wholesale wood-flooring market and can even be found on the shelves of Home Depot. But some questions remain over bamboo’s green merit.

The tree is grown halfway around the world and carries a sizable carbon impact on its journey to the United States. Some doubt whether bamboo’s manufacturing process — which requires boiling, kiln firing, glue and intense heat and pressure — can really be called “natural.”

Moreover, little is known about the practices used to grow bamboo, which is generally harvested from family-owned plots in Asia. In the past the market for bamboo has tempted some to clear natural forests to make way for crops, canceling any of the plant’s carbon capture benefits.

“Any time we can produce a building material out of sunlight, water, air, things like that, we’re way ahead of the game,” said Alex Wilson, president and executive editor of BuildingGreen in Brattleboro, Vt.

But, he added, “We don’t really know a lot about the practices used to grow it. That’s not to say they’re necessarily bad — they may be pretty good in terms of low chemical inputs and so forth — but we haven’t been able to learn much about them” (Michelle Nijhuis, Scientific American, June 19). – PT