Environmentally correct, sustainable bamboo is emerging as a "green" alternative in flooring, tableware and even fashion design.
In the world of fashion in particular, Los Angeles is at bamboo's leading edge. Artist-couturier Linda Loudermilk featured images of tree branches at her Paris runway show two years ago, signifying the launch of her precedent-setting luxury eco line, including an array of bamboo-fiber apparel.
"Bamboo is the new cotton," she said in a phone interview from her studio on Sunset Boulevard. "It has all the properties that you physically want out of cotton, plus some. Bamboo is more antibacterial than cotton or wool, which are very absorbent and hold moisture in. Because bamboo wicks moisture away, it's great for your circulation and skin."
Then there are Loudermilk's bamboo accessories, such as the handbag comprising sasawashi--made from the leaf fiber of a bamboo cousin--and a bamboo handle. For the spring season, she will introduce bamboo menswear and jeans lines.
There are about 1,200 species of bamboo, which is among the most widely used plant on earth. Some species of bamboo resist stretching better than steel, so in warm or tropical countries where they grow abundantly, this bamboo often substitutes for steel in the construction of houses, rafts, bridges and scaffolding.
Bamboo isn't actually a wood at all, but a generally hollow grass that renews itself in seven years or less--and doesn't require pesticides. This is one of the reasons bamboo is so attractive to environmentalists: Certain subtropical species can grow from a foot to more than three feet per day, and it's not unusual for them to reach 100 feet. It's like sustainability on steroids. Proper harvesting causes no more harm to the plant than mowing does to a lawn. And because it is a grass, bamboo is free of knots, which affect the stability of wood.
Bamboo is nature's total-use product. Split and flattened culms (the distinctive jointed bamboo stems) are made into baskets, mats, hats and fish traps. The pulp can be made into paper. Branches yield water pipes, brooms, chopsticks and musical instruments; in 2000, Yamaha introduced a laminated-bamboo guitar. Bamboo splits perfectly straight and thin, making it perfect for fishing rods. Leftover pieces make firewood. Gourmets eat the tender young shoots. The leaves make animal fodder.
