At first, bamboo just sounded like a great word for our generic multi-sport base layer apparel, as we were looking to come up with a unique name.  But then, we discovered that the Bamboo plant was actually a great source for clothing and textiles.  Some of the same properties that our base layer apparel was utilizing, it turns out, was naturally occurring in Bamboo fibers.  We at Bamboo Brand are eco-sensitive people that strive to be as "green" as possible in all of our endeavours; from transportation to everyday recycling, from locally grown organic food to wind energy, we constantly seek the alternatives.

Some Stats to consider:

Bamboo fiber characteristics
• Bamboo fiber is softer than cotton, with a texture similar to a blend of cashmere and silk.
• The moisture absorbency is twice that of cotton with extraordinary soil release value.
• Bamboo fiber contains anti-bacterial properties, eliminating odor naturally.


Care instructions
• Shirts are not pre-washed and may shrink slightly, but not enough to require buying up in size.
• Colors will not run.
• Your Bamboo Brand shirts can be washed just like any other cotton shirt you have in your wardrobe

Bamboo, the green alternative
By Amado de Jesus
Inquirer News Service

CAN YOU NAME A MATERIAL that rivals steel in strength, is more sturdy than concrete, and in 12 months grows as tall as a tree?

The answer is bamboo.

Bamboo is not a tree. It belongs to a subfamily of the perennial grasses. It is a fast-growing, renewable resource, and its stems can be harvested several times from the same plant. Bamboo clumps will grow new shoots for as long as 75 years. There are several species of bamboo used in both indoor and outdoor construction.

In this country, most of our bamboo is not grown and harvested efficiently. In many cases, bamboo is found only in distant rural areas. Many people consider bamboo as a building material that is suitable only for temporary and flimsy structures. This is the major reason there is low demand for bamboo.

This is not the case in many countries. Today, people are rediscovering bamboo. Not only is it cheap, it is also versatile and esthetically appealing. Bamboo is grown and harvested widely to build houses and other structures.

Some of the countries that manage sustainable bamboo forests successfully are Vietnam, Indonesia, Hawaii, Australia, China and Thailand. These countries have come to realize the vast potential benefits of bamboo, which is aptly nicknamed the "miracle plant."

Qualities of bamboo

Bamboo is an environment-friendly alternative to wood for construction. It is an extremely fast-growing plant. While it takes 10 to 20 years for most woods to be harvested, bamboo takes only three to five years.

Bamboo is one of the strongest woody plants on our planet. It has more than 1,500 species thriving in varied terrain from sea level to 12,000 feet on every continent except the polar regions. Some species grow at two inches per hour while some grow one and a half meters a day.

Harvesting does not kill the bamboo plant; it creates no erosion problem. Bamboo can thrive even in soil damaged by erosion and has been effectively used for erosion control.

Bamboo fibers are about 10 times as strong as the wood fibers used today in construction. It has a tensile strength superior to mild steel (15,000 pounds per square inch). This means that smaller and lighter weight types of bamboo can be used in place of wood products. Using bamboo in construction can mean a lot of savings in material used and transported.

Environmental protection

Bamboo is effective in reforestation of degraded lands and releases 35 percent more oxygen than trees. It reduces light intensity and protects against ultraviolet rays.

With its root system, bamboo is effective for watershed protection, especially along riverbanks and in places prone to earthquakes and mud slides. It greatly reduces rainwater runoff, prevents soil erosion and absorbs twice the amount of water as other trees. Rainwater runoff is rainwater not fully absorbed by the soil, thus resulting in floods.

A renewable resource

Bamboo has many practical applications. "Ply boo" is now widely used for flooring and paneling. Its pulp is used for paper-making. It acts as a raw material for construction and reinforcement for concrete beams. It can also be used as briquettes (compressed coal-dust) for fuel.

New engineered applications include lumber, veneer, strand and particle boards, plywood and other laminates, and emergent technologies of high strength bio-composites.

Related industries

Today there are over two billion people who are benefiting from bamboo-related industries. Experts in the field claim that there is a three- to five-year payback period for a new bamboo plantation against 8 to 10 years for rattan.

India and China, with 15 million hectares of bamboo reserves collectively, are focusing their attention on the economic benefits of bamboo and its protection.

· Food. Millions of people worldwide derive nutrition from bamboo shoots. The Japanese use the pulverized bamboo skin with its antioxidant properties to prevent bacterial growth and it is used as a natural food preservative. Bamboo litter is used as fodder for animals and fish food.

· An ancient medicine. For centuries, bamboo has been used in Chinese herbal medicine. It has been known to treat asthma and coughs. Black bamboo root is also used to treat kidney disease. It has also been known to treat venereal disease, cancer, fever and prickly heat. Today's researchers cite the bamboo's potential in the medical field.

· Bamboo preservation. Research institutes have developed environmentally safe "green" bamboo treatment and preservation techniques to prevent attack from the "powder postbeetle," the most common natural enemy of bamboo.

The challenge

Perhaps now is the right time to take another look at bamboo, a plant that is greatly underutilized. Bamboo is a green building material and is classified as a rapidly renewable material, which is distinguished from wood by the shorter harvest rotation -- typically less than 10 years. Bamboo is biodegradable and because sunlight is generally the primary energy input, it is less energy-intensive to produce. Bamboo is one of the most sustainable raw building materials today.

New ideas and research on the production and many uses of bamboo continue to create positive economic development and impact on new industries and products.

Developing the local bamboo industry can contribute to a reduction in construction costs. It can also support indigenous construction skills, thus providing jobs for many people. And finally, it will attract investment to continue the development in the bamboo industry.