Over 100 Everyday Products made with Bamboo

What products can be made from bamboo? Or similarly, are there many everyday products made with bamboo? Visitors to our website frequently ask us about the different uses of bamboo, but the better question would be: What cannot be made from bamboo? Or as the ancient Asian saying goes:

“A man is born into a bamboo cradle and goes away in a bamboo coffin. Everything in between is possible with bamboo!”

It’s true though, from edible bamboo shoots to construction materials, medicine, bamboo fabric or biofuel it has all been done before.

For the past 15 years, bamboo experts have been experimenting with the multiple uses of bamboo and are still discovering new applications everyday, bamboo fiber for the garment and automotive industries, flooring boards, veneers as thin as 0.2 mm, are just some of many examples.

Bamboo panels, especially floors, are more and more in demand all over the world, because they have the texture of marble and the elegance of wood; in addition, they are strong, durable, smooth, clean, non-sliding and resistant to humidity.

A short film commissioned by INBAR for the World Expo in Shanghai, profiling bamboo – and its many innovative uses as a strong, lightweight, sustainable, carbon capturing material, including surfboards, bikes and building materials.

The challenges we face today is to further improve and innovate the uses of bamboo. Since bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth and a sustainable building material, it could easily substitute all known wood applications without having to cut down entire bamboo groves or plantations. Better yet, bamboo continuously grows after harvest without having to re-plant it. Bamboo also converts about 35% more CO2 into oxygen than a regular tree.

The bamboo products we see on the market today, are just the tip of the iceberg, we predict that more and more innovative bamboo applications will enter the consumer markets rapidly. Therefore it is an exciting era to live in if you are also a firm believer of how bamboo can contribute to a greener and cleaner environment. We can’t change our consumption based economy, but we can certainly change the resources we use and the way we manufacture our products!

Below is a list of common uses for bamboo. Please note that not all bamboo species are suited for every single application. Some species are edible while most are not, some can be used as structural timber while other only serve for ornamental use or pulp.

 

Everyday Products made with Bamboo

1. Forestry

Bamboo Forest

  • Erosion Control
  • Soil Stabilization
  • Environmental Remediation
  • Windbreaks
  • CO2 Sequestration
  • Sound Screens
  • Commercial Plantations
  • Landscaping

 

2. Wood Industry

Bamboo Plywood Panels

  • Particle Board
  • Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)
  • Oriented Strand Board (OSB)
  • Mat Board
  • Corrugated Roofing Sheets
  • Flooring
  • Molding
  • Beams
  • Glulam
  • Plybamboo
  • Veneer
  • Lumber
  • Strand Woven Bamboo (SWB)
  • Poles

 

3. Pulp and Paper Industry

Bamboo Paper

  • Newsprint
  • Bond Paper
  • Toilet Tissue
  • Cardboard
  • Cement Sacks
  • Coffee Filters

 

4. Textile Industry

Bamboo Bath Towel

 

5. Bioenergy Industry

Bamboo Charcoal

  • Charcoal
  • Biofuel
  • Pyrolysis
  • Firewood
  • Gasification
  • Briquettes
  • Pellets
  • Biomass

 

6. Food and Beverage Industry

Bamboo Beer

  • Bamboo Shoots
  • Bamboo Wine
  • Bamboo Tea
  • Bamboo Beer
  • Bamboo Vinegar
  • Charcoal Coated Peanuts

 

7. Automotive Industry

Bamboo Steering Wheel

  • Steering Wheels
  • Dashboards
  • Interior Trim
  • Body Parts

 

8. Sports and Recreation Industry

Bamboo Bicycle

  • Bicycles
  • Skateboards
  • Surfboards
  • Snowboards
  • Polo Balls
  • Baseball Bats
  • Ski Poles
  • Fishing Rods
  • Golf Tees
  • Inline Skates

 

9. Electronics Industry

Bamboo Iphone Case

  • iPhone/iPad Cases
  • Computer Mouse
  • Keyboards
  • Headphones
  • Speakers
  • Laptops

 

10. High Tech Industry

Bamboo Composite Decking

  • Bioplastics
  • Composites

 

11. Farming Industry

Bamboo Fishing Net

  • Greenhouses
  • Fencing
  • Fish Traps
  • Farming Tools
  • Baskets
  • Animal Fodder
  • Beehives
  • Containers
  • Animal Pens
  • Props and Support Sticks
  • Water Pipes
  • Waterwheels

 

12. And Everything Else…

Bamboo Helmets

  • Houses
  • Furniture
  • Bridges
  • Cutting Boards
  • Baskets
  • Toys
  • Blinds
  • Door and Window Frames
  • Medicine
  • Bathtubs
  • Steamers
  • Weapons
  • Musical Instruments
  • Chopsticks
  • Helmets
  • Incense Sticks
  • Matches