DIVE DEEPER:

• Bamboo has a documented cultural and economic history across Asia, where it has been used across food, building materials and arts for centuries.

• Tropical and subtropical climates are best suited to the growth of bamboo, and traditional regions for the plant include Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, some southern US states and parts of Australia.

• China, Vietnam and Indonesia are the largest exporters of bamboo – China leads significantly with a market share of 66%.

• Use of the plant has grown dramatically around the world in the past few years as sustainable raw materials become more in demand. The global bamboo market size is expected to reach USD 82.90 billion by 2028.

• Product categories leading the charge include reusable beauty packaging, clothing, tableware and timber alternatives such as flooring.

• While bamboo is generally considered to be a sustainable material, when manufactured as a textile it follows the same process as rayon Viscose, which can be incredibly chemically intensive and polluting. The Federal Trade Commission requires companies to list “rayon made from bamboo” rather than simply bamboo to avoid greenwashing. Brands such as Bam favour working with manufacturers with waste treatment technology in place, avoiding unnecessary environmental impacts.

• Due to its naturally deodorising properties and breathability, bamboo fabric is often chosen for socks and activewear.

• Within beauty and personal care, major brands such as Colgate have launched bamboo toothbrushes, while toilet roll company Who Gives A Crap, which uses bamboo as well as recycled paper, has sold 300 million rolls to customers in 36 countries. Wild uses bamboo pulp for its natural deodorant refills.

• Naturally, growth brings concerns, with many becoming worried about large areas of land being cleared to farm bamboo and the possibility of monoculture farming, which disrupts wildlife and decreases biodiversity in existing ecosystems.

• Furthermore, China is one of the few countries where the commercial-scale production of bamboo takes place. Therefore, a large amount of bamboo is exported to countries like the US and Europe, which contributes to further CO2 emissions and may negate the benefits of using bamboo in the first place.

• FSC-certified bamboo offers assurances about the chain of custody and is currently the gold standard for bamboo sourcing.

• A further reassurance is the fact that there are thousands of species of bamboo. Farmers across Europe and the US, such as Forever Bambú and Mixon Farms, are testing species suited to cooler climates to create localised variants that can hold their sustainability credentials.