Wait,
Bamboo Grows in the US?
Yes, it does! Bamboo is grown and manufactured in almost all industrialized countries. Thomsen Bamboo harvests groves typically located in the Southeastern United States. From Texas to Florida, there are untold thousands of acres of bamboo groves waiting to be harvested!
The United States is the ONLY country that doesn’t utilize this amazing plant; as such, the US is the world’s #1 importer of bamboo and related products. Thomsen Bamboo is changing that by harvesting existing groves for manufacturing, as well as planting nurseries for major product expansion. Thomsen Bamboo does not import a single product, part, or parcel. Everything Thomsen Bamboo manufactures is 100% home grown, right here in the United States.
Where Did
American bamboo come from?
Each grove Thomsen Bamboo harvests has its own history and origins; most of these origins can be traced back to soldiers returning from abroad with cuttings to plant; there was also a governmental program related to planting bamboo in the early 1900’s. The manufacturing portion of the market was never developed, but the bamboo still remains, providing Thomsen Bamboo with more than enough raw materials to manufacture its products, while planting additional nurseries in order to bring more all-American bamboo products to market.
What are
bamboo's environmental benefits?
In a word: Lots! Since bamboo grows so rapidly, it is a HUGE Carbon sink. Bamboo sequesters more than twice the amount of CO2, and produces 35% more oxygen than trees do! Additionally, the carbon it sequesters is literally locked within the bamboo, so when harvested and manufactured into, for example, a candle, that CO2 is literally erased from the atmosphere!
Additionally, bamboo aids greatly in soil remediation, erosion prevention, and adds nutrients to the soil rather than depleting it.
Bamboo requires very little maintenance once it is established. Just plant it, and the bamboo takes care of itself! No other cash crop can boast that it can supply a sustainable, annual harvest after only being planted once!
These are just a few of the amazing facts that make bamboo an incredibly helpful, strong, and renewable plant!
What Can You
Manufacture Bamboo Into?
Short answer: almost anything! Bamboo is as strong as it is versatile, with the tensile strength of corded steel upon maturity. And that's before any manufacturing processes or procedures happen to engineer bamboo into an even stronger material!
From small, durable home goods - candles, cups, cutting boards, wind chimes - to large, industrial goods - flooring, lumber, activated carbon, fabric - bamboo has nearly limitless manufacturing applications.
As the US is the largest importer of bamboo, if we had a sizable amount of bamboo in America, we could begin manufacturing a lot of these products ourselves! At Thomsen Bamboo, that is goal number one: making bamboo an American cash crop.
How Can Bamboo
be an American cash crop?
Believe it or not, MOST cash crops currently harvested in the US today are not from the United States! Corn, cotton, wheat, and most others all came from other countries. Bamboo is no different; though it may not have originated here, the soil and climate conditions in many parts of the US are ideal for growing bamboo!
