Bamboo Can Help You Go Plastic-Free at Home

If you want to add more sustainable products to your home, then bamboo is a good option to consider. This material is highly versatile and can be used to replace plastic, paper, and wood for various household items, from toothbrushes to Band-Aids to dishes and more.

Bamboo is a type of perennial evergreen grass that grows at a mind-boggling speed. It reaches full height in 3 to 4 months, compared to a tree that needs 30 or more years to mature fully. This means that bamboo can be cut and replanted easily, and yearly harvesting causes no harm to the soil or surrounding environment.

Not only does it grow rapidly, but bamboo also absorbs twice as much carbon dioxide as trees and produces 30% more oxygen than most plants and trees. It can be grown organically, without the aid of chemical pesticides or fertilizers. As a usable resource, bamboo is impressively strong—tougher and more durable than steel.

People, both historic and modern, have devised countless ways in which to use bamboo's unique properties. It has long been used for scaffolding, structural reinforcement, furniture, musical instruments, jewelry, and food. More recently, it's being turned into textiles like clothing and rugs, diapers, flooring, household paper products, and more. 

You can find some of these unusual yet highly practical bamboo-based products on Free the Ocean's online store, where it sells bamboo toothbrushes, hairbrushes, utensil sets, dog and cat bowls, bandages, veggie brushes, dental floss, cooking utensils, tree-free tissues, cotton swabs, and more.

Mimi Ausland, co-founder of Free the Ocean, speaks highly of the material. "I love my bamboo products! Because bamboo is such a durable and strong plant, the bamboo products we offer are not only plastic-free, but they'll last a very long time, making them a sustainable and economic investment."

Free the Ocean's customers are happy with their bamboo-based purchases. Janet W. says, "These bamboo utensil kits are super cute, well-made, and durable, and come with a bamboo straw. What's not to love?" James M. describes his bamboo hairbrush as "sturdy and environmentally responsible," and Karen H. loves her bamboo bowls, which she says are "very nice, pretty color, and good quality." 

Ausland points out that bamboo products tend to be more beautiful and aesthetically pleasing than plastic, which it commonly replaces—"the perfect integration of design and function." 

It's important to note that not all bamboo products are automatically "green," but do depend on how they're produced. When it comes to clothing, for example, the process of turning bamboo into rayon is quite wasteful and harmful to the natural environment; but when made using the closed-loop Lyocell process, is far superior and has almost no waste byproducts.

Ausland, however, reassures that Free the Ocean is careful with the vendors it chooses to work with. "Determining bamboo’s sustainability means understanding where it came from and how it was grown, harvested, hauled, and developed into products. We make sure the vendors we work with are following this process in a way that helps the Earth, not harms it."

You can see Free the Ocean's bamboo products here.