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The use of bamboo spans many cultures and has benefited humankind for thousands of years. While its applications have evolved over time, bamboo continues to support a variety of industries with a wide range of products. These areas include decorative products, building materials, fabric, food and beauty products just to name a few. This blog post will be examining the versatile functions of bamboo in our society today.
Decorative Products
Bamboo has long been used to craft a host of elegant decorations for the home. These items range from picture frames to dividing screens as well as furniture and rugs. These decorations and furniture pieces can feature the rough natural quality of bamboo or can be manufactured to display a sleek lacquered finish. Bamboo is often colored to complement different types of décor.
Building Materials
The use of bamboo for building purposes is growing, which is likely due to its incredible strength and flexibility. It’s used for scaffolding and bridges, to build road reinforcements and even homes. The attractive appearance of bamboo paired with its durability makes it an ideal choice for many building requirements. Bamboo is also more readily available and tends to be more affordable than many other types of building materials.
Fabrics and Clothing
Bamboo fibers are used to produce high quality fabrics and clothing. The extremely soft and breathable characteristics of bamboo fiber provide an alternative to more expensive material such as silk. Bamboo is also used for other products such as jewelry, bags, hats, and even diapers. This growing trend offers many advantages for the consumer as well as the environment.
Cooking
Bamboo is used both as a food source and a material for cooking products. Cooking with bamboo shoots is common in many Asian cultures and the antibacterial properties of bamboo have been used to preserve food. As far as kitchen products go bamboo has become a popular material for cutting boards, steamers and a various types of kitchenware.
Health and Beauty Products
Many health and beauty products contain ingredients derived from bamboo, which benefits the skin in several ways. It is also used to produce a good number of tools used in the beauty industry.
• Bamboo Powder
Finely milled bamboo powder is a major ingredient in exfoliating skincare products and powdered cosmetics. It is rich in essential minerals and the particles are smoother than salt or grains, which makes it great for sensitive skin.
• Bamboo Sap
This hydrating ingredient is derived from bamboo stalks and is used to aid skin regeneration as it strengthens and smooths skin quality. It is valued for its medicinal skin healing properties and is rich in amino acids and minerals.
• Bamboo Fiber and Wood
Fabrics made from bamboo fiber blends are extremely soft and also have natural antibacterial, antifungal, deodorizing and hypoallergenic properties. This makes them an ideal choice for bath towels, bath mats and washcloths. Bamboo wood is a first-rate material for beauty tools such as combs, bath brushes, hair brushes, dry skin brushes and nail brushes.
Weapons
While this may not be as common today, bamboo is still used to make different kinds of weapons. It was used for centuries to create archery bows and arrows, blow guns, swords and staves. Bamboo is also used to create training tools for martial arts practice. These traditional weapons are produced today to provide a lightweight and strong substitute to many modern counterparts.
Instruments
Hollow bamboo tubes can be used to create a multitude of musical instruments. While it is mostly associated with wind instruments, the light durable quality of bamboo is used to construct many percussive instruments as well. Whether it is used to create flutes, drums or didgeridoos, these finely crafted instruments will produce some of the most beautiful music you have ever heard.
Although the advantages of bamboo are becoming better known, the scope of their use is still not common knowledge. All the products that can be made from this highly renewable resource are beginning to be utilized in some surprising ways.