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Bamboozled by Bamboo Flooring – Recycled Flooring Myths Debunked

 

Bamboo flooring is not eco-friendly. Huh? What? Really? Yes, that's right. We've all been sold a bill of goods, bamboozled into thinking that bamboo is eco-friendly. In reality, the only thing that makes bamboo "eco-friendly" is that it is a fast-growing grass. That's it.

Now, this might still be hard to swallow for many of you who, when they think of eco-friendly flooring, automatically picture a bamboo floor. I hate to burst your eco-savvy bubble, but it's true. The overwhelming majority of bamboo flooring has been harvested, cultivated, and produced using environmentally damaging methods.

Did you know that brands of bamboo you buy from major retailers are filled with adhesives that contain VOCs and chemicals such as formaldehyde? What are VOCs? According the Environmental Protection Agency website, VOCs are: "Volatile organic compounds (VOCs). They are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors."

What are the side effects of VOCs?

According to the EPA website, "Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some organics can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans.　 Key signs or symptoms associated with exposure to VOCs include conjunctival irritation, nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, dyspnea, declines in serum cholinesterase levels, nausea, emesis, epistaxis, fatigue, dizziness."

VOCs in Bamboo flooring will range by manufacturer. But the fact that any VOCs are emitted is cause enough to say that Bamboo flooring is not as eco-friendly as you were led to believe.

You'd think that would be enough, right? Not so.

How about the fact that Chinese mills and manufacturers are clear-cutting centuries old forest to make way for bamboo plantations? Why do they do this? Doesn't bamboo grow fast? Well, sure, but when you have worldwide demand for due any product that's labeled as green or eco-friendly, greed gets in the way. So, for the sake of buying "bamboo eco-flooring" we have forgotten that a key part of any product being truly eco-friendly is how its manufacturing affects the current environment. In this case, it is clear that decimating forests and the natural habitats of native plant and animal species also helps strip bamboo from the list of eco-friendly flooring options.

Add to that the fact that already existing plantations use chemical fertilizers to help speed up the harvest and cultivation processes. These fertilizers seep into the ground and end up in rivers, streams, and the drinking water of plants, animals, and humans alike. Again, how "eco-friendly" is that?

Ok, let's for the sake of argument, say that you never read the above. For the sake of argument, let's say that bamboo is 100% eco-friendly. There's still the fact that bamboo is at its strongest when it reaches full maturity. That takes about 3-5 years, typically if no fertilizers or other chemicals are used to alter its growth. However, because of that fervent demand, mills are chopping down bamboo forests every 3-5 months. What does this mean? Well, it means that most bamboo flooring is made up of weak grass that has not matured. Manufacturers have decided that to have their cake and eat it too, they will break these saplings into strands and glue them together. Hmmmm….do you think they will use cheap adhesives or more costly eco-friendly adhesives that don't emit VOCs? You have every right to be skeptical now. Of course, they are going to go down the fast and cheap route! Why wouldn't they when no one is questioning their methods?!

Oh, and let's not ignore the recent news about Chinese manufacturing methods. Child labor. Lead paint. Chinese drywall. Do you honestly think bamboo flooring produced in China would be any better?

Many of these findings were first published in a study conducted by the independent research firm Dovetail Partners. Going largely unnoticed, they concluded that a potentially green flooring product can be turned into an un-eco-friendly product the more manufacturers enter the industry and the more the industry cares about meeting production deadlines instead of producing a truly eco-friendly flooring product.

So, let's say you don't want to install bamboo, you've changed your mind, canceled your order. That's it, you're done buying bamboo. What now?

There are many products on the market that might suit your needs. You can try cork flooring. That's a pretty neat alternative. But, its performance and durability are still unproven over the course of many years. There's engineered flooring, but many manufactures also use formaldehyde based glues to fasten the hardwood to the plywood base. There is one niche that is growing, reclaimed and recycled wood flooring. You can find reclaimed flooring that has been used in barns for a truly antique look. However, if you have more modern tastes, or if your home is fashioned in either modern or transitional design styles, you might want to try recycled wood flooring. What is recycled wood flooring? In fact there's one manufacturer that uses eco-friendly adhesives and saves tons of waste in the process. You see, typical flooring manufacturers take what they want out of a log and throw the rest away. By fusing these strips together, you can have your pick of over 20 species of truly eco-friendly flooring.

In conclusion; is Bamboo eco-friendly? I think it's safe to say that it's time to reconsider bamboo as a green flooring option. If you want to truly own a green home and own a green floor that emits zero VOCs, then try out recycled wood flooring.

 

About the Author

Noah Jordan is a hardwood and eco-flooring expert.

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