Bamboozled by Bamboo?

Bamboo has been touted as the new wonder fabric, it is rapidly renewable, requires little or no pesticides, and is soft to the touch. Today consumers can find many “eco-friendly” products that are made from bamboo but can it really be all that sustainable?

Bamboo is a grass that grows up to two meters per week, and is cut and not uprooted when harvested allowing it to grow back quickly. It is extremely hardy and usually requires only rainfall to grow and thus many industries find it quite appealing as a source material. Unfortunately the majority of bamboo is derived from large plantations in China that are highly under-regulated. Many of the plantations were created through the clear cutting of forests, and although usually grown organically, bamboo is very invasive and can choke out native species and greatly affect local ecosystems. To be processed into fiber, a lot of energy is also consumed and toxic chemicals like caustic soda are needed to refine it into a wearable textile. The whole production process needs greater regulation and transparency to ensure its growth and production is more sustainable.

As with most products on the market there are usually trade offs in its production and use, and bamboo is no exception. Bamboo does have some great positive attributes however; It can be made into a variety of textiles that can be as soft as cashmere or as strong and durable as denim. Bamboo is also praised for its UV protection and its anti-microbial properties although further testing is needed to bolster these claims.

There is no doubt that bamboo is a highly versatile material. It can be used successfully not just for textiles but for a variety of other industries as well. For bamboo to truly be a sustainable material however, more attention must be put on its production and how it is harvested and processed. There is no doubt that bamboo can be a great sustainable material, but the hype surrounding it can be detrimental for the real facts to come out.

Visit the Organic Clothing Blog for more info

Put a Little Hemp in Your Concrete

In Europe, the oft-stigmatized hemp plant is becoming a widely accepted, environmentally friendly alternative source to concrete or brick in the building industry, but sadly has yet to gain any real traction in the US market. Hemp based concrete, a mixture of aggregate hemp stalks, sand, lime and concrete, is becoming more widespread in Europe due to it being a rapidly renewable resource, its impressive thermal and sound dampening qualities and its small carbon footprint.

Hemp-based concrete cannot be used for load bearing walls but is still a very versatile material; it can be cast into blocks or in a solid mass around timber frames, and can even be sprayed onto many surfaces. It is extremely energy efficient and can be used in multiple applications including roof and under floor insulation, in casting solid walls and as wall filler around a timber-framed building.



The stalks of the hemp plant, once considered waste, are processed and used as a renewable, fast growing aggregate in the concrete. Hemp is an extremely hardy plant, requires little maintenance, pesticides or water but unfortunately has been mired in controversy do to its close ties with a certain close relative. Today, numerous companies like Tradical and Hemcrete are prospering in Europe and their hemp-based products have successfully been implemented in a wide range of projects. Like many large industries, America’s building industry is slow to accept and adopt new methods and technologies, but the promise of hemp-based concrete certain; its future in the US however is not.

To find out more visit www.americanlimetec.com

Preserving Our Plastic History

Museums are well known for meticulously preserving and caring for even the most fragile objects, but it’s the preservation of common plastics that is creating some of the biggest problems for curators today. When most people think of museums, ancient artifacts, fossils and famous paintings usually come to mind, but plastics are far more prevalent in museums than at first glance, and their deterioration can be a serious threat to the integrity of many museum exhibits.

A new program called the Preservation of Plastic Artifacts in Museum Collections-POPART for short- is a 42 month, multimillion dollar initiative addressing the growing problem of the deterioration of plastic artifacts and displays in museums across the globe.

When many plastics degrade they give off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or even acids that can eat away at other artifacts. Once a plastic starts to degrade there is little that can be done to salvage it. Combating this problem is further complicated by the countless varieties of plastic polymers out there, each one breaking down in a unique way and releasing different harmful toxins.

Museums are now realizing the importance of treating plastics with care as they are experiencing some of the many dangers first hand. Although they may have an extremely long life span, as soon as plastics begin to degrade they become a danger to the priceless collections in museums around the world.

Further Reading: ScienceNews Article
Photo courtesy of John lee/National Museum of Denmark

What’s in that Roll?

Mention it to most people, and you’ll probably either get a humorous aside or no response at all, but make no mistake. Toilet paper is serious business. The earliest known use of toilet paper is said to have been in 6th Century China, and since that time, the product has seen some dramatic improvements. It wasn’t until 1883, when Seth Wheeler of Albany, NY got a patent for a roll of paper wrapped around a tube, that what we now think of as modern day toilet paper or “bathroom tissue” was born.

Considering the extent of recycled paper in the final product, toilet paper is a perfect example of wide-scale reuse of waste material. Two of the most well-known recycled paper product manufacturers are Marcal and Seventh Generation, both of whom have made it their business to grow financially while reducing waste and doing good by the environment – their paper household products are made from 100% recycled content. To illustrate how serious Marcal is in this regard, the company has recently developed a co-product called Kaofin® Fiber clay, made from the clay and cellulosic fiber waste that comes at the end of the recycling process for glossy coated paper products such as magazines. This can then be used for a number of applications, including for landfill cover, as a cement additive, and in the manufacture of animal bedding.

How Toilet Paper is Made on You Tube

How Toilet Paper is Made article on www.madehow.com

The Genius of Paper Tube Architecture

(Images courtesy of Centre Pompidou)

To characterize some of Shigeru Ban’s recent architectural projects as paradigm-shifting would be an understatement. Born in Tokyo Japan in 1957, the world famous architect was influenced by both Japanese minimalism and many of the most renowned Western architects (Corbusier, van der Rohe, and others). In fact, one can see echoes of such simplicity in Ban’s use of cardboard shipping tubes in structures from temporary relief housing he designed for earthquake victims in Japan and Turkey, to a church in Kobe, Japan (reassembled in Taiwan in 2007), and even his small studio space on the roof of the Pompidou Center in Paris. Although there are certainly other materials present, such as recycled fiberboard, steel hardware and support cables, the cylindrical cardboard tubing often makes up the bulk of these simple structures.

When one considers Ban’s use of cardboard tubing as a structural (some might even remark on its minimalist aesthetic quality) material, it is easy to understand why many refer to him as a green architect, yet he eschews such labeling as contrived and perhaps short-lived, preferring to adhere to his own notion of designing and engineering structures holistically through a sort of practical minimalism. It is encouraging to see an architect as famous as him, utilizing such simple and straightforward waste as cardboard shipping tubes, within a project, rather than simply being comfortable with their being landfilled or incinerated. Perhaps his work will have a powerful influence not only on those humanitarian-minded architects and designers who are already inclined to offer solutions to overcrowding and low cost housing, but also on those who have yet seen the benefits of sustainable alternative materials.

Shiguru Ban’s Interview with designboom.com

Product Release: Flame Retardant Eco-friendly MDF

SierraPine, makers of Medex, Arreis and Encore just released a new product called Medite FR. It’s a Class 1 certified, flame retardant, medium density fiberboard (MDF) produced with a formaldehyde free binder system. According to Chris Leffel, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for SierraPine “By combining certain component and process advancements, we can now offer a product with our formaldehyde free technology that has excellent fire resistance and superior physical properties at a competitive price.” The material has been certified by Guardian Industries to have a flame spread index of 25 or less. In addition to its fire resistance and formaldehyde free binder system, this MDF exhibits superior machinability and surface characteristics.

Belts Made From Belts

Linda Demers from à La Mode Designs sells products that are often made from post-industrial scrap. Through her site, you’ll find these great belts made from automobile seatbelts, an urban twist on the classic “d” ring belt. She say’s her biggest challenges are being able to find consistent reclaimed materials to use and sourcing manufacturers who can sell or donate smaller quantities.