March 2007 | From the Editor
Bamboo-tiful!
By Ritzy Ryciak
I once read that bamboo grows several feet a day and that the only reason it can grow that fast—and remain standing—is that the young (very water-rich) shoots lean on one another and help hold each other up.
The image of those shoots helping each other make it in this bambooz-ily, wacky world has stuck with me.
This month, bamboo and its interdependent ways, sprouts up throughout CC’s pages.
“Bamboo’s eco-footprint is smaller than a size 5 stiletto,” writes Summer Bowen, in her article “Bamboo-tiful World.” “While bamboo, like hemp, is not yet certified organic, it possesses a natural ability to ward off plant-munching pests without the use of toxic pesticides.”
As with hemp, using bamboo means that we don’t have to hack down our slower-to-grow trees. Add that to the fact that bamboo fabric is durable, biodegradable and, drum roll…has antimicrobial properties that actually ward off body odor. Fabric that is easier on our health, the planet—and keeps us smelling sweet? My only question is, what took us this long?
One interesting trend with many of these “alternative” and greener products, is that they aren’t “alternative” at all. We aren’t giving things up, we are gaining in design, function and style.
Bamboo and the eco-fashion craze are great examples of this.
“Eco-fashion and architecture are helping people understand: Things can still be stylish and have a modern aesthetic—and be sustainable,” offers Simran Sethi, the face of Treehugger.com’s TreeHugger TV.
Sethi, the woman who taught Martha how to decorate with bamboo, is featured this month in our debut “Conversations” profile. Sethi placed eco-fashion at the top of her what’s hot list, and helped affirm CC’s fashion feature claim that, “eco-fashion is bigger than a passing trend. It is a movement.”
“How do we re-envision our world?” asks Sethi, pointing out that how we consume serves as a great entry point toward personal and global change. “Is what you are doing everyday moving you closer to the goal of how you want your world to be? And when I say world, I mean both our smaller, immediate environment, and the bigger world—because it is easy to get disconnected.”
Taking a tip from my favorite leggy reed, whether you are a bamboo shoot, or a saavy Seattleite—connection, is what allows each of us to grow.
—Ritzy
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