STRAND WOVEN BAMBOO FLOORING
The Consumer Benefits of Strand Woven Bamboo Flooring
People often talk about the environmental benefits of using renewable resources, but it is less often that you come across an article dealing with the consumer benefits of buying products made from renewable resources.
The first benefit for the consumer who is considering buying strand woven bamboo flooring is that it is normally cheaper than traditional hardwood flooring, especially the more 'exotic' hardwoods. Sometimes strand woven bamboo flooring can be as much as 50% cheaper than hardwood flooring. Furthermore, bamboo flooring is normally cheaper than reclaimed hardwood flooring which is another type of sustainable flooring.
Another important consumer benefit of strand woven bamboo flooring is that it is a hard and durable flooring type that with proper maintenance will last a life time. Because most strand woven bamboo flooring has color from the carbonization process it is unnecessary to re-stain the flooring after sanding. This makes strand woven bamboo flooring less hassle and cheaper to maintain than hardwood flooring.
As far as allergies go, strand woven bamboo flooring is superior to hardwood flooring. Although hardwood flooring allows no place for dust mites to bed down, strand woven bamboo is more anti allergenic because the kun substance in bamboo makes the flooring anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. This means that people who are susceptible to attacks of allergic rhinitis are less likely to have attacks staying in a room with bamboo flooring than with hardwood flooring. The only other flooring type that is as suitable for allergy sufferers is cork flooring.
Finally, it should be mentioned that the consumer and the environment are not easily separated because without an environment there would be no consumer. For too long traditional economics has only assessed growth in terms of GDP, inflation, employment and other such indicators. Such an economic model willfully ignores the damage done to the land, sea and climate by industry and business. It is only now with off-set programs, REDD and other such innovative schemes are governments and economists beginning to include environmental factors into their considerations of 'growth' and 'progress'.
The truth is that what is good for the environment is also good for the consumer. A healthy planet means clean air, clean food and the basis for a good standard of living. This is the greatest consumer benefit of strand woven bamboo flooring. If you buy it then you are protecting hardwood trees. If you buy strand woven bamboo flooring you are helping to stop deforestation, you are fighting climate change and you are promoting an ethical form of consumerism which is vital to the future health of the planet and all those people who live on it.