THE IMPACT OF BAMBOO // the good, the bad, and the unnecessary zero waste swaps
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2020
- 🌴🌿 SUPPORT MY WORK AND FIND MY EBOOK AT / gittemary
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Correction: I, of course, misspoke in the video when referring to the industry being responsible for 35 billion jobs, it is naturally 35 *million jobs
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The video in blog form: www.gittemary.com/2020/07/the-...
Sources:
Bamboo usage and economic effects in Africa, Akwada, D. R., Akinlabi, E.T.2018 : www.sciencedirect.com/science...
Sustainability and use of bamboo in China, Dovetail Partners inc, Dr. Jim Bowyer, 2014 : www.dovetailinc.org/upload/tm...
Straws report: www.appropedia.org/HSU_straw_...
Pandas: help.worldwildlife.org/hc/en-...
Bamboo plastic: pandabode.com/blog/index.php/2...
For business contacts and miscellaneous awesomeness: Gittemary@outlook.dk
BUT WHAT ABOUT BAMBOO CLOTHING? You can now find another impact video, dedicated to bamboo clothing, as per request, find it here: ua-cam.com/video/SQJJ4SK4Ah0/v-deo.html 🌿💚
35 BILLION jobs eh? I think you meant to say 35 MILLION. 😉
@@Mygg_Jeager well, yes obvious I misspoke, I have also already addressed it in the comments 🥳
This is why you're one of the only zero waste youtubers I follow. You research and give us stats instead of just a "do this". Plus, YES! only buy replacement when needed. Don't throw non-eco friendly shit out if it's not broken yet. Preach!
Thank you so much 💚🌿🌴
LOVE how you covered "the unnecessary" bc so many people, I feel buy bamboo for the aesthetic and not when they really need a replacement. I was guilty at first too, but now I know better and will only buy it (well, anything really) when needed. Like with bamboo cutlery, I should have just used utensils I already had. Love this series and how informative it is!
Thank you so much I am so happy to hear it! And I definitly recognise those patterns within my own journey as well 💚😅
Material ideas:
Linen
Cork
Rubber
Energy vs fossil fuels:
Solar
Wind
Hydro
Geothermal
Nuclear
I would love to learn more about cork and rubber! Pls consider doing videos on these!! (Such a great suggestion)
This series is what we all needed without even knowing! In my local zero waste group a lot of people are writing things like "get rid of plastic toothbrushes, you can get bamboo ones very cheaply, I buy them on aliexpress for 50 cents and they're so much better for the environment" and I'm always like "are they really?" I feel like there's no way it could be sustainable for this price, it's probably made from cheap fertilized and insecticide sprayed bamboo with no regards towards the environment and made by slaves
Adele St "Aliexpress" and "sustainable" are just soooo incompatible!!
@@sophiatomlinson1231 exactly! Sadly most plastic toothbrushes are coming from a similar place as well
AliExpress and wish are not sustainable. They're green washing every little thing they say it's sustainable.
TBH I use my own silverware versus buying bamboo cutlery. Never could get behind buying a bamboo/wooden cutlery when my own from home is cheaper. Also I will say I use those "disposable" bamboo chopsticks. they are easier for me to use than plastic ones. I just wash them and reuse them till I can't anymore and then use them as stirring sticks or in my garden as plotters, line holders etc. then I compost them.
I have done the sam whenever I've had those to-do chopsticks, they are great for gardenwork 🌿👍
I definitely agree with you but e.g. I bought the bamboo set bc I know that I wouldn't be allowed to take a metal knife with me on a plane :) So baggage control would throw it out but they have no problem with bamboo
Good job, girl.
I'm realy happy about these series ! I do believe that this things have to be discussed. And everybody need to know them.
Thank you so much! 💚 I think that we have to discuss the pros and cons of every material, even the ones we praise in the eco community
How is this not having way more views ?????
Very well treated !
When it comes to re-usable cuttlery : buy second hand metal spoons instead of buying new bamboo stuff 💪
Those numbers and charts are amazing!!! Thank you!!! Very good research.
I wonder if southwestern drought communities could micro terraform their properties and communty empty lots with bamboo forestation to harvest self sufficiently as food sources and building materials. It would filter the air, increase microclimate humidity, decrease dependency on lumber industries and big ag that cause deforestation....so many possibilities!
I think that thinking about what we can grow on private property needs to be a bigger conversation too. 👍
I think as far as disposables, the sustainability trade off is worth it to get rid of microplastics, that are now in our food chain, thus in us. We are now partly plastic. Obviously excluding composites and coatings. We definitely need to regulate the bamboo industries to be certifiable and sustainable. The places offering the bamboo disposables should stamp them with composting and recycling resources and instructions, a system like the triangle numerals on plastics. You always have such well thought out and informative facts and points!
Yeah it seemed like the bamboo straws were emitting more CO2 mostly from being heavier. Since disposable straws are used and thrown away within a half hour, why don't they make them light/thin like they do the plastic ones? Or even make them 0.5 if 0.2 is TOO thin? If they're disposable they don't have to be super thick.
@@priscillajimenez27 I have a simpler solution, just don't use a straw.
@@-Jin999- I don't.
@@priscillajimenez27 Wise choice. Keep it up.
My biggest takeaway thus far from this series is that many materials can be very sustainable in theory, but few production chains are fully sustainable in practice. As you illustrated wonderfully in this video, the very same product can have a vastly different impact depending on where it is sourced from and how it is disposed of at its eventual end of life. In my view, this concept actually lends power to the consumer because we can choose both where we buy our products and how we dispose of them (albeit constrained by what is locally available). Anyways, thanks for keeping at this series! Looking forward to more thought provoking commentary.
I don't know why, but my youtube decided to open as the danish version today and i did not realised it until an advertisment played and I couldn't understand anything. But what was funny to me is, that you were in the ad :) So I was watching a Gittemary Video with Gittemary advertisment xD. I know that isn't anything constructive but it made my day :)
This sounds like a super cool UA-cam experience. Fun and interesting!!
Haha that's so fun! Double up on Gittemary 😂🙆♀️
Congratulations!! It is evident that you have worked and investigated so much to do this video. You answered some of the issues I wonder long time ago. You can be satisfied because you did a superb job.
Two statements about bamboo is that in terms of the transportation aspect, I feel that because it is transportation, it's a controllable factor. The other topic is having stricter regulations by having bamboo in possible large farming facilities that can be controlled upwards. A big problem for me is that bamboo are grass but categorized as weeds and the use of tearing down other forests can be helped with facilities like how we treat our organic produce. These facilities can help regulate the spread of bamboo and by building up, there is a management of pesticides and other factors. This can regulate the transportation carbon footprint costs since in areas that ban bamboo can use it in a controlled space where it's almost certain it won't invade the environments of the respected areas. Growth upwards problem? Construction of a spiral farm could be a thought. This is all thought and theory since I'm from an entirely different industry and background education.
I feel like you should do a series like this tackling the fast fashion industry topic cuz it’s so complicated.
I would definitely love to see video like that from you, I wish I had found your channel sooner! Following you from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 (small island in the Caribbean) 💖
I'm so glad you're talking about this! 💚 a lot of people are guilty for those unnecessary zero waste swaps and most are just doing it for aesthetics. this is such an eye opener!
That's so cool that you did a video on this & so many other subjects. Basically, humans are just destroying the earth 😕 I'm glad people are starting to think about these things. I just watched a video on how plywood is made (as I am building a large wine cabinet for someone). Which led to another video of logs being transported across rivers & out of remote locations from all over the world. It was kind of heart breaking & neat at the same time. Ultimately, we need to save our forests ❤ which is why I've stepped away from full-time woodworking & more into health/fitness. Very well done 👏
What about bamboo as fabric? My reusable cotton rounds are made of bamboo fleece. And my toilet paper is made of bamboo pulp. I'm just curious
I have heard that bamboo fabric is made with a lot of chemicals in the process and therefore not as sustainable or natural as one might think. But I struggle a bit with finding more information about this.
Bamboo is a very sustainable crop, but to turn it into a fabric highly toxic chemicals are used, of which 50% cannot be recaptured and reused. Also, it is often claimed that bamboo is UV-resistant and antibacterial, but it is not clear whether those properties are still present after the process that turns it into fabric. It is better to use products made out of lyocell (also known by the brand name tencel), which uses a closed loop process where 99% of the chemical solution is reused. Lyocell can be made out of many different different crops, for example eucalyptus.
Check for hemp fabric too. It's better than both cotton and bamboo.
There are other fabrics from natural fibres, especially banana plantain fiber and pineapple leather fibre, which are agricultural byproducts.
Canadian sewing teacher here... Great info in this video, super helpful!! Would there be a “Bamboo Part 2” video eventually? I am wondering about the use of bamboo in our clothing and fabric? I like to teach my students about different types of fabric (from a sustainability approach). Also, on a personal level, my current bed sheets are toast and I need to order new ones. Bamboo bed sheets... is this a more sustainable option than cotton bedsheets? Lastly, I am aware that hemp has a lot of wonderful properties, and I am curious to know why it is not being used more frequently? Not to be demanding... but please keep ‘em coming Gittemary... this is a great series!!
Bamboo cutlery, even reusable, definitely irks me a bit. Every thrift shop I've ever been to has buckets of silverware for such a low price. I get the desire for lightweight travel stuff, but one fork, spoon, pair of chopsticks, etc. still hardly weighs anything and you can search for lighter weight thrifted silverware.
It really boggles my mind when a restaurant uses wooden/bamboo single-use cutlery, even if you're not taking food to go and sitting inside. Wouldn't it be more eco-friendly and cheaper to have metal cutlery and install a dishwasher?
I agree and it's Soo bad when I see restaurants using single use plastic ones
This has been a bigger issue locally for me since Covid.
I think the same goes with chopsticks especially, i haven’t been to one asian restaurant that had reusable chopsticks. And it boggles my mind because i can’t see a single reason they would rather go with the single-use ones. Can you reuse them yourself tho? Sure, but wood is not the ideal material for cutlery, it’s simply not as hygienic or long lasting. It would be better for everyone if they just used metal, but it seems they just don’t care to.
In the restaurant industry there's alway gonna be take out with take out cutlery, so some proprietors will just cut kitchen labour where they can by using the trash instead of a human or machine dishwasher. I get it. I 've done the same thing for convenience whenever I had big gatherings at my house. Dishes are a pain. It's good to take personal responsibility where we can, but it's one of those situations best solved by better institutional-level recycling laws and practices. Life is crazy. I respect anyone who tries to be eco-friendly, but as a wider solution this just can't be an individual-choice-driven thing. We need laws and thoughtfully engineered systems that leave room for the craziness of life and diverse ways of a wide range of people.
As the "Bag It" movie put it, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle".
You're a fantastic bird Miss Mary!!
Keep educating ,the world needs you!!love Australia xx
Awesome video. Thank you for all that information. You rock. I know it takes a lot, a LOT of time to get reliable sources and to transmit it in a short and simple way in the way you do. You are AWESOME.
Been following you for years and your videos keep getting better and better ❤️ I love what you do & thank you for all this research.
That takes me back to like 3 or 4 years ago when I started going Zero Waste and watched a video about sustainable Christmas gifts. One of those items listed was the Bamboo Coffee Cup. Since my mother had no idea what she could give me, I made her a list of the items I saw in that video and for St. Nicolas Day, I got the Bamboo Cup. Felt so happy. Now, knowing all this stuff, I wish I would have known better back then. I still use it, mostly actually to transport snacks like tomatoes or strawberries from our garden to work.
This is my favorite series. Thank you so much for doing such an incredible amount of research. Your hard work is deeply appreciated. Another consideration when discussing carbon dioxide emissions is the fact that it converts atmospheric co2 as it grows. While possibly negligible, there is some impact.
Im going to do a video on the compostability of those single use potato plastic cutlery. I have collected a bunch of them from where I work. The ones we use also have compostable plastic bags that the cutlery is wrapped with. So the entire package can be composted. Not that people will do that. I have found that if you hand wash them they will actually hold up pretty well and can be reused to a point. I just want to see how quickly they actually decompose.
The only straw motto: don't use straws if you can, or bring your own straw 💗
This is awesome!! What about ceramics for another video?
That would be a great idea
Yes!!
I really appreciate alll the time and energy you put into this series
The videos in this series are so great! Really appreciate all the research work that you must put into them
Thank you! I have been wondering if bamboo was really that sustainable or not. I love this series!
I love all of your videos! but especially this series! each video is soooo informative!! Also I really appreciate you linking your sources!
Thank you so much for doing this work, communicating it clearly and providing your sources so we can explore further. It's so well done and so helpful. Great job!
I love how informative these kind of videos are! I definitely learn a lot a make more sustainable decisions!!!!
Amazing video! I've been waiting for this one, thank you so much!
it’s such a great resource material. strong and sturdy
Loving these videos. So informative and well explained.
Biodegradable materials won't necessarily biodegrade in a landfill. Something to consider, as landfills are often anerobic (oxygenless) environments. Anthropologists dig up wooden stuff all the time, even hundreds of years later.
so excited for this video!!
Wow this is very well thought out!
Bamboo is hard to work with, it can trash bits on woodworking equipment easily because of the high silica content. So it requires specialized tools to work with it.
Finally someone touching this topic!! Amazing video!
Yaas, I'm all about the nuances! You are very talented at what you're doing :)
Awesome work and thank you for covering the plastic bamboo also, shared ✌🌱🌎💚👑
I love your work Gittemarie, thank you so much! 🌼💚
Thanks so much for sharing all your research. I had no idea bamboo wasn't living up to those sustainable ideals they so freely mention about them. I agree with you completely it's about how it is grown and processed not what it could be. Also they should be 3rd party certificated. Thanks again you have awesome videos!
I love this kind of videos!!! thank you for educating and doing this fantastic job
Thank you so much! 💚
that was extremely informative! thank you for this video and for all the effort that went into researching the information!
Awesome video! I'm loving this little materials series :) It's super informative and interesting! Thank you so much :D
Great analysis - thanks!
This was a brilliant video. Thank you for your work ✊🏽
plastic breaks down in heat. in our microwaves, or even when we take it along in our bags or in our vehicles on a hot day
I love love LOVE this series!!!
Thank-you Gittemary for this super informative video :)
Thank you for showing these series. Where I live at it is very hard to find bulk store however I try my best to limit my waste.
So informative. Thank you for making this video!!
You're so amazing! Thank you so much for the GREAT and such important information!!!
Thank you for this!
Hey!! First of all, love your content!! Very informative 😊😊
Please do make a video about bamboo fabrics. There are so many stores and websites selling bamboo make-up wipes to towels and clothes. Not sure if these are as sustainable as the claims say.
Thanks so much for the info, I have one of those bamboo travel cups and it did cross my mind that it wasn’t that good but thanks for the confirmation.
A geat breakdown of the product, though i was surprised you didn't mention bamboo fabric, which i believe is no where near as sustainable as what we are lead to believe. One last note, disposable bamboo cutlery doesn't break down readily in a home compost. I have a pretty decent composting set up, and the 'compostable' spoon i chucked in three years ago, still looks the same. ❤
There is so much to cover in terms of bamboo garments, that it is actually going to be its own video ☺️✨
I know it's out of topic, but I love your nails 😍
Interesting... everyone should watch this and be more aware.
I love those series! I had no idea that my bamboo reusable coffee cup might contain plastic and perhaps even be unfit for hot liquids. Now I'm not sure I want to use it for my takeout coffee, but I also feel bad about disposing it and buying something new. Ugh :( Also, I wanted to add another point that you didn't discuss here - bamboo fabric. The info online is very conflicted. On one hand it is claimed to be more sustainable to use bamboo than cotton because of the growing process of the plant and the required resources. On the other hand the process the bamboo has to go through to be converted into fabric fibers is long and appears to be a lot less sustainable than we thought. I was wondering what is your take on it. Love your videos!
I love your channel, it is so inspiring
This was very interesting, thank you!
Could you do one about the potential impact of cornstarch alternatives? I've been seeing a lot of things advertised as being made from cornstarch so it's biodegradable/compostable
That falls under my bioplastic video, which is already here on the channel 😊🌿
How has that plant not fallen off that shelf yet?!
Many years ago, I did that 'thing' where you learn about a sustainable material and go buy a crap load of it, I have been using several of those bamboo items for more than 20 years, but there were a couple that did not last and I felt awful having to toss them out, so now I am super careful which bamboo products I buy.
Thanks, great video! I did want to remark one thing about something you said about the disposable plastics. It’s important to know what actually happens to disposed plastics where you live. I see for example many people in zero waste communities in Belgium and the Netherlands talking about how plastic will lie in landfills forever, but as our countries are just too densely populated to make space for landfills, plastic is just burned. So for us, the plastic we dispose of will not leach micro plastics in the environment, but will release additional CO2 instead, so for us it does kind of come down to CO2 emissions and energy and recourse usage. Not sure what happens in the UK, but I thought this would be useful.
Katrijn De Keersmaecker that true for most part, in Denmark we don’t have landfills either but it has been uncovered many countries, Denmark included, actually also ships trash to other countries that then use landfills, thus we cannot say with 100% certainty that our trash won’t end up in landfills, sadly 🌿
Aaaand even though plastic is burned, the filters from the incinerators that burn the plastic are simply buried or shipped to places with landfills as well 🌿
Thank you for your video 💛
thx for the bamboo video
Most likely I am focusing on a tiny speck here - but what about the sustainability of bamboo for human consumption?
Great video!
Ok, I just subscribed!
Boobalou are really great with each order they plant a tree through the eden project
I have worked with Boobalou for 3 other videos, they are really great 😊🌿
Thanks
The pokemon card😂😂
This was very informative, thank you! Now I wonder what kind of problems hemp has since it is similar in ways of use but also comes mainly from China.
Thank you so much for making this video!! I had this constant concern regarding bamboo and didn't know where to research properly.
Another product I don't feel completely sure about is beeswax wraps. They seem like an obviously better choice than plastic wrap or aluminium foils, but I don't know what's the impact bees' habitat, since they're such a vulnerable species.
This was super interesting and confirmed a lot of my suspicions. I wonder about the bamboo flooring which is used en lieu of hard wood flooring, I will have to research it more. I do know that the bamboo toothbrushes that I buy are made and grown in my country (Canada), because I make a point of trying to purchase household items that haven't traveled more than I have.
Thanks for a great video which really covers all the pro's and con's of bamboo. Key takeaway for me was the reusability and versatility of this incredible plant-family.
What make's it really complex for the consumer is that we humans have "outsmarted" ourselves when growing bamboo or processing bamboo-fibres into other products... and the fact there is no internationally agreed standards here makes it very difficult for the green consumer to buy ethically. I guess for the time being it's probably best to stick with those bamboo-goods which are close to the natural material.
One minor quibble: I was interested in learning more about bamboo-based clothing, which I find really great to wear and which still seems to get a lot of bad press over here in Europe (not really sure why...).
Maybe you can do some research and a video comparing enviromentally textiles - as this seems to be a huge problem mainly driven by "fast fashion". See a recent video on The Economist channel which I will copy here: ua-cam.com/video/tLfNUD0-8ts/v-deo.html
Keep up the good work, I will subscribe to stay posted...
Random question: are matches sustainable or is the chemical covering on the heads bad? Is it better to use a lighter? I've seen one that's electrically charged from the wall socket, is that a good path go with?
ive been wondering this too
I just switched to a plasma lighter, bought the original Explorer lighter from their site for $30 and I love it. Keep a piece of hemp rope covered in beeswax(I use olive oil in a pinch but that might not be as safe) as a wick or buy a premade wick for maximum versatility as some things would be awkward to light with the arch. I normally just wrap the rope around mines.
This is an informative video and I enjoy it a lot.
At the time, it's good that you have covered both elements of bamboo which is excellent.
1 key thing to point out:
For individuals who pointed out about poor working conditions in certain industries, I have a question to ask: Have you ever visited a slum or township in third world countries before? Many of the "so called" jobs with poor working conditions labelled by advanced economies are actually sought after by unskilled workers.
It's really hard to explain here. But once you visited the townships in Africa or slums in Asia, you will better understand that this labeling of jobs reflects on a lack of understanding of context.
Have the courage to visit the non-touristy area and you will learn!
Deem, now I wanna start growing bamboo in Estonia! :P Seems that many places and the world in general could benefit from growing it, if done sustainably (which seems rather easy...). Thank you!
could you do a video about ink, when you compost it??? lovely video as always :)
Dang, I wish I had seen this video while my husband and I were planning our wedding reception. We opted for bamboo plates and cutleries and had a bin labeled “compost” but no one was really paying attention so non-compostable things went in as well and it all had to go in the garbage. Though, we had a lot of leftover plates and forks that we’ve been reusing since I guess there’s an upside? 🤷🏻♀️
This is wonderfully in-depth now I would wonder if you could show us the best transparent companies. I have both plastic reusable and bamboo kitchen wear I use them repeatedly and everything I can I get from thrifts of 2nd hand so the items don’t end up in the landfill vs buying new. The only issue is that it’s not trendy on Instagram for zero waste viewers even though my plastic spoon was from the 50s and still cooks my food well
Thank you for this video! Looked at French toothbrushes made of French wood and with bristles that can be swapped + given back to the company... The fact that imported bamboo has a lower carbon impact than local EU softwood is so weird to me !! I'll dig into it before getting that toothbrush.
But actually bamboo forest cover of China is decreasing. Some paper-pulping industries had to close down because of this issue
Theonly bamboo thing i have is a toothbrush.I have also bought metal straws and a metal water bottle but thst it.We have everything else that can be reused at home and in large quantities also,so it would be really stupid to buy more things than we already have and not usethem enough
I find it highly alarming, that those mixed materials of plastic and bamboo are very common in baby and toddler plates, bowls, cups and cutlery. They are marketed as green but instead they are toxic for your child, if you use those for hot food like you mentioned. The German "Stiftung Warentest" did a test lately on those items and warned consumers about it, but the producers of those items haven't placed a warning on their products so far. So if anybody reading this knows parents, who use those items for their children please let them know, that they should use it for cold food and beverages only.
Yeah, I would also never recommend those products to children, I frankly I avoid them myself as well
What about bamboo bedspreads and I heard that some cutlery has a chemical on it? I'm not sure; I'm guessing like a sealant like wood does to preserve it? And can bamboo get moldy from constant exposure to moisture and heat? Thanks for the info!
I just watched your video on Elate cosmetics. Has Elate provided you with information on how they source the bamboo that is used in their packaging? I can’t find this information on their website.
what are your thoughts on straw fiber products?
single use objects have to be put to a stop. eventually. until then all we can do is assure that Individually we avoid using them as much as possible
Thanks for the video! I am wondering if you know about the brand Seams Friendly? I have a hard time telling from their website if they use sustainable practices for real or if it is greenwashing. I can see they use organic cotton and plant dyes a lot. Many garments are handwoven and such but I don’t know if the labor is well paid or not? Thank you!