ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION
Despite bamboo being able to grow without the help of pesticides in many areas of Asia, pesticides are being used to improve the yield of bamboo. Also huge areas of forest are being clear cut to make space for bamboo forests. Fertilizers are being used. Soil is being made toxic, top soil is lost and soil erosion is occuring. These are just a few of the environmental problems caused by the booming bamboo industry. Bamboo is a renewable resource because it grows very quickly, however people multiply quickly too and with ever increasing mouths to feed the temptation is always to abuse nature to squeeze a few more dollars out of the land.
It is a pity because with the correct resources and farming and managing techniques bamboo can be commerically grown without using pesticides and fertilizers, and without cut clearing. It is possible for the farmers to be paid a fairer amount for their labors and then they would not need to ravage more and more virgin forest to grow bamboo.
Environmental safe guards are very important. The most effective safe guards are ones where the consumer chooses eco-friendly products. If the developing world cannot sell bamboo because that bamboo has caused environmental damage then they will have to put their house in order to regain a lucrative market. After all it is possible to grow bamboo nearly any where, even in Europe.
There are no real 'world' laws protecting the environment. The climate change conference in Copenhagen was a fiasco. Every country has its own sovereignty. How a government chooses to enforce its laws is not decided by the United Nations or any other International Body. The UN can only advise and reprimand. In the developing world and in China in particular governments are often choosing to turn a blind eye to farming practises that negatively impact on the environment. Their citizens need to make a living. They lack resources to set up educational programs that will show farmers how to manage sustainable forests and how to grow food without posoining or over-burdening the soil. The best way to change this situation is to be a responsible consumer.
To be a responsible consumer of strand woven bamboo flooring it is very important to only buy flooring from a company with FSC accreditation. The FSC or Forest Stewardship Council is an organisation which sets the strictest rules on inclusion. The FSC is involved in projects all over the world to help people manage forests correctly and to allow only environmentally responsible logging and harvesting.
Until recently the forests in Guangzhou in Zhujiang Province in China were where most of the 'moso' bamboo that is used in making strand woven bamboo flooring came from. It was an area where no companies had FSC accreditation. This is an area which was renowned for using ennvironmentally damaging practices and not having any fair trade programs. This now is slowly changing.
Now people in the Developed World are becoming increasingly reluctant to support companies without proper environmental certification and fair trade programs. Of course the near extinct Giant Panda lives in and eats bamboo. It is important that the habitat of the Giant Panda be protected. The only effective way to do this is to only buy products by companies with bona fida environmentally friendly accreditation. Below are a list of companies selling strand woven bamboo flooring with FSC accreditation.