We’ve talked about the pros and cons of bamboo here before, when the FTC decided to crack down on green claims about bamboo fabrics. Now, eyes are turning to products like furniture and flooring made from the fast-growing grass.
The Boston Globe published an editorial that talked about some of the problems with the bamboo industry.
The article cited “overharvesting, treatment with non-green chemicals, and shipping across the globe” as just some of the things that consumers need to keep in mind when looking at bamboo products.
There’s also the issue of how manufacturers turn the grass into usable planks for things like flooring and cabinetry. Since it’s hollow in the center, you can’t just cut planks like with traditional wood products. Instead, it’s cut into strips which then get glued together, often with very toxic adhesives.
Fortunately, none of this has to rule bamboo out as an eco-friendly building material. It just means that we as consumers need to be diligent in finding out where products are coming from and learning about the different certifications.
I’ve got to tell you, I looked high and low for information on bamboo certification for building purposes and had a really tough time turning anything up! The Forest Stewardship Council did certify one sort of bamboo flooring. It also looks like a company called Scientific Certification Systems also has certified some bamboo flooring.
In the face of very little information about certification, though, I was hoping to turn to you guys! Does anyone have information on certifications for bamboo that are trustworthy or ones that are all greenwash?
Image Credits:
Bamboo. Creative Commons photo by xJavierx
That’s a really interesting question. Just seeing that a product has been FSC-certified is probably not enough, because I think the FSC just deals with forest issues, and not questions about things like the toxic adhesives you mention (correct me if I’m wrong).
Great point! I think you’re right about FSC certifications. This is definitely something I’m keeping an eye on!
That is great point. I think a lot of us get tunnel vision every once in a while when it come to environmental issues. We hear FSC-certified and think “Environmentally friendly” and we hear Environmentalism and we think global warming, but theres a lot more to it. Thanks for the reminder.
Hi Becky,
I work for a bamboo flooring/wood panel company called Teragren (mentioned in the Boston Globe article) and we also sense the same frustration from consumers. It seems there are certifications for just about everything out there so it’s important to really look at what’s behind a certification before relying on it to make a purchase decision.
To answer your questions on FSC and SCS:
Nexyoo was right…FSC essentially certifies that the material came from a well managed forest (BTW Teragren just received FSC certification our traditional bamboo products this month).
Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) is actually a certifying body that has some of there own certifications as well as being a certification body for FSC and other certification organizations and they are all trustworthy.
If VOCs are an issue, FloorScore certification (done by SCS) assures that a product meets stringent low emission standards. This certification meets the criteria for the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED credit for low emitting materials as well as other’s like the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS).
Since there are so many steps in making a floor or even a shirt out of bamboo, one certification can’t cover it all.
Companies should always look for ways to help educate their customers but if they care about a particular issue, customers should always do their homework and look at what’s behind a certification.
Thanks for all of the information! This is very helpful.
We took a pretty detailed look at this question in a feature article in Environmental Building News. It’s available online at BuildingGreen.com.
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2006/3/1/Bamboo-in-Construction-Is-the-Grass-Always-Greener/?
We’ve also been tracking the FSC certifications pretty carefully, as management of the bamboo resource is one of the key needs we identified in that article. Congratulations, Teregren!
There is a lot of ado about toxicity from glues used to make bamboo flooring, mostly because of the LEED Rating System’s credit for using materials made without urea formaldehyde. But there is relatively little glue used in bamboo flooring compared with particleboard. For most purposes low-emitting bamboo flooring is as good as formaldehyde-free flooring.
In choosing product I’d be most concerned about quality-durability, since there are so many low-cost knock-offs, and go with a reputable company like Smith & Fong or Teregren.