We have deep admiration for the good work of 3rd Millennium Alliance. bambu was first introduced to Jerry Toth and his team through our association with 1% For The Planet three years ago. We have since been a keen supporter of their work. They are focused on one of the most ecologically diverse, but also endangered regions on the planet.

The Third Millennium Alliance approach appeals to us. They are there…on the ground, and they are working directly with the local communities in Ecuador. It is an approach we prescribe to as the most effective way to create positive change and an enduring business model. They are working to protect the local habitat and build sustainable local economies. A double win.

We have had several conversations with Jerry and his team about how bamboo, a plentiful and renewable local crop, can be a positive factor in their efforts.

YOU’RE INVITED to the world premiere of “The Last Rainforest of Coastal Ecuador,” a short documentary film about their development project.
Wonderfully filmed in one of the most beautiful environments on earth.

The film was produced by Third Millennium Alliance in collaboration with Conservation International and the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment. The film is 35 minutes long. The party will last longer.

Please show your support.

Wed. Sept. 8th at 7pm
Brooklyn Ecopolis Sustainable Resource Center
180 Smith St. 2nd Floor (corner of Warren St.)
Cobble Hill
F and G train to Bergen St., walk 2 blocks

We have posted their short video on the bambu Facebook page

The upcoming International Food Bloggers Conference could just have easily been called the Love Food Conference. Bringing together people who love to create good food, love to write about good food, and love to photograph good food. And talk about good food, and of course, eat and enjoy good food.

300 chefs, speakers, writers, photographers, bloggers, foodies, ‘tech savvys,’ all come together for the 2nd Annual International Food Bloggers Conference in what has become a highly anticipated event. And what better city than Seattle, and what better place, than Theo Chocolate to host this ‘coming together’ of food enthusiasts.

IFBC is the brain child and is orchestrated by those wonderful folks at Foodista.

IFBC = Food + Writing + Technology…..and this year, bambu joins in!

bambu loves food too, and our products provide an ideal canvas for carefully prepared and creatively presented food. And since sustainability and modern cuisine are key themes of this event, it was a natural that we would partner up with Foodista and the IFBC. Our Certified Organic, Compostable bamboo  All Occasion Veneerware® plates and utensils are the equipment of choice for the Saturday’s event.

Among the scheduled events will be, James Oseland, Editor-in-Chief of Saveur, as the keynote speaker for this event.

Other scheduled events include:

* The Art of Recipe Writing
* Food Writing with All Five Senses
* Law and Ethics in Blogging
* Digital Food Photography

We will be on hand to share our range of food preparation and and serving products – all made from renewable materials, and produced responsibly.

For the Love of Food. It’s all about creating and sharing stories, building community, and celebrating good food. We’re thrilled to be a partner in this event.

food bloggers unite

The word Sustainable and Sustainability get used, and misused with a lot more frequency these days. And we’ve heard countless definitions. Most of them poor.

We have sometimes described Sustainable = Enduring. And while that’s true, it is not very complete and requires too much filling in the blanks.

This is the best, most accurate definition we have seen. This is what bambu is working towards.

Sustainability entails the responsible caretaking and creative cultivation of resources — social, cultural, financial, and natural — to generate stakeholder value while contributing to the well-being of current and future generations of all beings.

-Alexander Laszlo, – founder of Syntony Quest, as quoted by Chuck Piazza, a professor at Saybrook University.

What do you think?

We have been looking for the right image to reflect this thought. V difficult to represent in a single shot. This isn’t it. Any ideas?

expose the threats to the environment and find creative, positive ways to tackle them.

The Greenpeace UK has taken a particularly creative approach to sending out a serious message. It is a good reminder about effective ways in which to get your message heard.

This a favorite among the team at bambu. A wonderful ad produced by Greenpeace and starring the great E. Izzard. It is a few years old, but it deserves resurrecting. It is a great piece of film directed brilliantly. The story gets to the heart of the matter without ‘guilting’ the viewer. It speaks to the seriousness of the state of the planet, yet does it in a humorous tone and suggests the ways we can change and the things we can do. Buy Renewables is one of them. It is a message that deserves repeating. We like the blue bits.

The link is here….http://youtu.be/XLBDmhsDY3k

A prime example of this, is a presentation given by Deb Singer, the founder of Singer Sustainability. Ms. Singer shared a insightful presentation that brought forth several key principles that lead to success in the marketplace. And used three example companies to illustrate her points.

We were delighted (and, admittedly a little humbled), to be cited as one of the companies that gets it right. The other is a company we have long admired, Preserve. Nothing wasted. Everything gained. The fine folks at Preserve are creating solutions and solving problems in fresh and colorful ways.

Link to the presentation here – http://slidesha.re/ciWfuR

Deb Singer is no stranger to the world of sustainability. bambu first connected with Deb Singer during her tenure at Whole Foods where she guided the organization towards Whole Living, a whole new store concept. In her talk, she shares her experience and knowledge to offer a relevant perspective on sustainability in housewares.

While sustainability was the focus, design considerations are essential. Being ‘green’ is not enough. And it echos an idea that we frequently remind ourselves of,

‘it is not just about your beliefs, or your words, but about your actions.’

Green Products Exhibition
Another example of the ‘green movement’ building momentum in the industry is the focus the industry is putting on innovative and new products. Green Products Exhibition featured products that use alternative materials, are designed for disassembly, or that add value through social and environmental benefits. bambu had four products selected for this exhibition. Hybrid Cutting Board Series, for the first time introducing bamboo and cork together – two highly renewable materials. Our wonderfully organic and charming ‘Coco Bowls’ made from reclaimed coconut shells, and our Spork & Cork.

Green Products Exhibition

……….Well…….ya know………..we all wanna change the world.

The bambu spork

It started with an idea…….and then it gathered steam……..it grew….others got interested. They add to it…… one person’s idea gets communicated to many……….and one person’s idea becomes the idea of several……and the beginnings of a movement start to take shape.

When Princeton contacted us and told us that they were starting a revolution, well, we were thrilled. And we were ready to join in the uprising and supply arms.

Spork Revolution!

The quirky wonderful ’spork’ has created quite a following. Part spoon, part fork, and sized and shaped to be used for numerous purposes. It is one of those items where,

you are only limited by your imagination.

Numerous people have shared stories of their affection for the Spork. How they use, where they use, and how they carry, and those stories have given us new ideas. Here’s Laura who received a bambu Spork in her Christmas stocking and now she carries with her.

Laura and her Spork

We have been creating new ideas around our Spork concept. First there was the All Occasion Veneerware Spork.

Then we introduced our bambu KIDS Spork. (Which by the way, is used by plenty of big kids too.)

If you saw us at New York Gift Show this month, you would have seen our next iteration of the Bamboo Spork.

Spork & Cork

So, we applaud the students at Princeton. And all those Spork fans out there, thank you.
Sporks have even been spotted on the comics page.

Last week, we had the opportunity to go back to school. This time, to China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). Internationally ranked, the school is recognized for its international MBA programs. More on CEIBS is here.

We were invited by Richard Brubaker to share our story. Rich is the leading voice on issues of Sustainability in China. The tireless Rich Brubaker, operates two leading and well-respected blogs on China, All Roads Lead to China and Cleaner Greener China. Rich Brubaker is also Founder of Hands On, a fast-growing volunteer and community support organization that is doing some fantastic work in China.

Rich is also teaching this year, Sustainability & Responsible Leadership to a class of 190 graduate students at CEIBS. Rich asked if we would break from our busy day, and come in and present our story to his students. We jumped at the opportunity.

Joining us for the day were IDEO, the exceptional design consultancy firm based in the US, and WALMART. We found it odd to be sharing the stage with Walmart.

But despite introducing himself as representing the ‘evil empire,’ Edwin Keh, COO of WalMart Procurement, presented some really interesting information on WalMart’s charge to bring sustainability practices to its supply chain. From our point of view, the jury is still out. We are certainly not going to change our views on doing business with Walmart. But we do applaud the desire to engage in new conversations. Rich shares more details of Walmart’s initiatives from All Roads Lead to China here. Edwin shared his journey of going from NGOs to Walmart, a dramatic transition by any measure.

Certainly a contrast to Rachel and my own transition from large multinational companies to bambu. We shared our journey, and the challenges and milestones along the way. As entrepreneurs, we can have a tendency to get so focused in our own worlds. We find it refreshing and insightful to pause, step back and remind ourselves where we started and why.

We fielded a lot questions during and after the presentation. The level of engagement was encouraging and reminded us the pleasure of being around young (global) minds.

We are excited to be embarking on a really cool ‘bambu China Project’ next Spring. We will be working with a team of CEIBS students to help us drive this breakthrough idea for China. More lessons, more students, more sustainable ideas to come…

Stuart Haygarth is an artist we have been watching with admiration. His art consists of chandeliers made of washed up trash, to coffee tables made of broken rearview mirrors.

Stuart Haygarth isn’t just trash talking here. He creates beauty from trash. Or Trash into Treasure.

Wallpaper* has assembled a wonderful slideshow of the pieces on display at the Haunch of Venison gallery in London.

Above: ‘Millennium,’ a chandelier made of hundreds of discarded party poppers.

‘Disposable,’ is made of over 400 disposable champagne flutes:

One of our favorite pieces is entitled Tides. It is made of hundreds of pieces of plastic junk which washed ashore near his home in England.

Here is a detail of his piece, Tides

bambu introduced a our Bamboo Pebbles this year to a great response. Our Pebbles are made from the excess bamboo material of our cutting and serving pieces. Waste into Value. Our Bamboo Pebbles have just been awarded a Design Award from the Homeworld Business magazine & International Housewares Association.

Thank you Stuart, for your Inspiring work.

(Via Fast Company.)

With the green movement gathering more momentum, there has been an explosion of terms and catchphrases being bantered about. ‘Organic’ is probably the most common one, and the term most often misused.

Consumers are in a state of ‘organic confusion’ – symptoms of an overused, often abused, and unsubstantiated use of the term. Its use is prevalent in the food and beverage category and recently, crossing over into textiles and housewares.

The food section in many stores is a minefield of ‘organic’ claims. The word ‘organic’ shows up in more aisles than ever before. The number of products now touting ‘organic’ would surprise most of us.

Yet, it is a positive trend that promotes healthy food, benefits both small and larger farmers, and supports responsible practices.

More good news. Perhaps surprisingly, these claims do not go unchecked. The USDA provides oversight for all organic certification. While there are several different organic certification labels, growers and manufacturers of organic products that claim ‘organic’ must also display an organic ’seal of certification.’

Food companies and growers must follow a fairly rigid set of standards.

More specifically –

In order to qualify as organic, a product must be grown and processed using organic farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity. Crops must be grown without synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes, petroleum-based fertilizers, or sewage sludge-based fertilizers.

It is well known that the use of pesticides and herbicides in conventional farming practices contaminates groundwater, ruins the soil structure, and promotes erosion.

Now, turning to bamboo. Widely known as a renewable resource, this fast-growing plant provides numerous ecological benefits. In most cases, bamboo is a ‘wild crop’ and it therefore, can be designated ‘organic.’ But, only if the source has been inspected, approved and granted certification, from an approved certification organization.

In the Housewares industry, the notion of promoting ‘organic’ as a benefit to consumers is a relatively new concept. We first brought the idea of organic certification to products in the housewares industry more than three years ago.

In the housewares industry, you have at least three ‘bamboo’ companies claiming the term ‘organic’ but unable to provide any substantiation.

These examples serve as a reminder to us, that consumers need to interrogate and challenge manufacturers’ claims. Do not take the words of a manufacturer or a hired PR firm as truth. Seek proof. Require verification.

FACT – If a company uses the word ‘organic’ to describe their process or ingredient, they must show evidence. Otherwise it is nothing more than false, unsubstantiated marketing speak.

At bambu, we have gone to exhaustive lengths to have our sources of bamboo certified. We are the first and only company to have our sources CERTIFIED ORGANIC. (note: only some of our sources have been granted organic certification. And only for those products do we display the certifying label.)

1. All Occasion Veneerware®
2. Natural Utensils
3. bambu KIDS

We spearheaded this initiative three years ago because we wanted to give consumers absolute assurance about the origin of our products. To convey that our products are safe for people and safe for the environment. And they needn’t take our word for it.

People are suspect of goods coming from China. As well they should be. Frankly, there are too many abuses here. Third party certification builds credibility and gives consumers important and impartial evidence that they need to make informed buying decisions.

In the most recent 2009 U.S. LOHAS Consumer Trends Database® study, half of U.S. consumers look for proof regarding a company’s green claims.

If you are interested, there is a good report on Greenwashing, we recommend. The Six Seven Sins of Greenwashing.

On a similar note, the textile industry is going through a similar situation of questionable claims and marketing hype. Here are a couple of links to some very good articles below, if you are interested.

The Facts about Fiber, Bamboo Fiber and Organic Fiber

Bamboo Fabrics Are Not as Green as They Say They Are. Link Here.

Fact Behind the Fiber. One of the best and most extensive posts on fiber processing. Link Here. from Organic Clothing – Facts Behind the Fiber.

Another article on ‘organic bamboo’ is here. First Clean Coal, Now Organic Bamboo

Greater accountability and more transparency are needed from companies. More thorough investigation is needed from consumers.

We catch up with Entourage on HBO whenever we can. While watching Season 6 we were surprised (and delighted) to see our products show up on the show. We have a bit of history with with the cast – (more on that below.)

In Episode 3 the boys are sitting down to a meal prepared by Johnny Drama (the only one who appears to actually cook anything). It’s Turtle 30th birthday and he joins the group to congrats and well wishes (moments later he receives a Ferrari from Vince and a Porsche from his girlfriend- only in tvland!)

They sit down to a midday meal on the deck. Vince is telling Turtle why he should not feel depressed, but feel on top of the world. (Don’t we all wish, sometimes, we had a friend like Vince, sometimes?) Then, Johnny Drama serves himself up a salad, it looks like. With bambu Curvy Servers. Yup, there they are. Nice.

Which leads us to another Entourage story. You see, we have a bit of history with the gang from Entourage.

Not too long ago, our Customer Care team in New York received a call from Adrian Grenier’s people. In Hollywood circles, Adrian is a genuine environmentalist and passionate advocate for the green movement. As fans, we were thrilled to receive his call.

He had been working on a home in Brooklyn. Built to environmental spec. Spectacular. It was finally finished, and he was ready to open his doors and share it with friends. We didn’t get the invite, but he did want to have some of our product for his housewarming. We said, ’sure.’ In fact, we did one better, and jumped into a car and hand delivered a whole assortment of stuff. It was great.

Adrian ‘thanked’ us. And gave us the below photo. Written on it is,

Hey Bambu Peeps – Thanks for the Grubware — Adrian ‘Vince’

Thanks Adrian. We’re fans. Don’t know what all this means, except that it is a bit of thrill. Especially when you’re sitting in Shanghai, head down everyday, doing the stuff that matters to keep a company moving and growing. And then you look up, and there, on the tv, on a random day at a random time, a world away and a thousand miles more, is the result of something you’ve been a part of making. It stops you. It isn’t huge, but it is kind of cool.