Some are hailing bamboo as a super crop that could replace a lot of traditional woods in everyday manufacture. While this hardy grass (yeah, bamboo is grass, how weird is that?) isn't suitable for all promotional products, it is a more sustainable option than traditional hardwoods used in products like USB cases, drink coasters, kitchen utensils, pencils, and household tools.

What Makes Bamboo Sustainable?

First and foremost, bamboo requires a minimal amount of water to grow. One of the major issues with growing forests for human needs is the amount of water they require, particularly when young. Bamboo takes a fraction of the water needed to produce a crop like cotton, making bamboo fabrics a fantastic alternative to cotton material.

Bamboo is a naturally hardy grass that doesn't require a lot of human intervention to grow either, unlike many traditional grain crops that need lots of fertiliser and pesticides to ensure a good harvest. It saves time and money when you don't have to add these additional products to a crop (both of which have their own environmental burdens). In addition, it ensures the bamboo is grown as naturally as possible, which is very appealing to consumers.

Bamboo is also a very fast-growing crop, unlike regular trees; depending on the type, it can grow up to 60cm daily. That's an eye-watering speed when you compare it with an oak tree or even an Aussie eucalyptus, which take years to grow to a harvesting height.

As alluded to above, bamboo also has a lot of different uses. For example, you can turn bamboo into fabrics, sturdy wooden items, or use offcut material to make poly-blended drinkware and pens. There are many different ways to make use of the bamboo plant and maximise all of the crop, which is fantastic news for those wanting an item that helps reduce the presence of less sustainable items on the market.

Is Bamboo a Good Eco Choice?

In most circumstances, products made from sustainable bamboo crops are a step up from fabric, plastic or traditional wood alternatives. However, it is worth keeping in mind that the processing of turning bamboo into these different items can involve a lot of chemicals depending on the factory that does the processing. You can speak to your supplier about the manufacturing processes their factory staff use and their commitment to sustainability.

A harder area to look into is whether or not the bamboo is being grown on newly cleared land that was originally a forest. Because bamboo is an in-demand crop that proliferates and generates income fast, some areas will opt to clear important forests or grasslands to create more land for farming bamboo.

While companies can put a lot of effort into engaging only older bamboo farms, it's worth keeping in mind that things like chemicals and growth areas are a factor in manufacturing bamboo products. It is essential to acknowledge that while bamboo is an excellent eco-choice option when done right, if you don't engage with a company like Cubic Promote that engages with ethical suppliers, your bamboo promo gifts might not be as sustainable as you might think.

What Can I Do?

We suggest speaking with the knowledgeable team at Cubic Promote to learn more about the environmental promotional items made from bamboo that we stock and our approach to bamboo as a sustainable material choice for promotional gifts. Our team can give you product suggestions and pricing, but they can also give you some insight into our supply chain and the lengths everyone involved goes to provide the most sustainable bamboo items we can.

Author Profile: Yoshe

Yoshe is a Cubic Promote’s content manager and she has worked with promotional products for almost a decade. Yoshe is full of great product ideas, she knows what's new on the market and how to use promotional products to boost your brand visibility. Visit her on LinkedIn.