Bamboo is an organic and natural material that stands out for its rapid growth. In its first years of life, it develops a complex network of subway stems that serve as a support and structural base for the cane, which Parafina is proud to use as our first sustainable material.
These canes can be harvested almost indefinitely with periods between harvests of 2 to 5 years. Their growth rate of close to 1 meter per day means that they can reach heights of 15 to 25 meters. This rapid process reduces the chances of damage to the local ecosystem when harvested.
A little known characteristic of these plants is that throughout their life they produce more oxygen than some common trees, due to the fact that they are in the grass family. Together with its rapid growth and oxygen supply, it is an indispensable material to combat global warming in the coming years, both by offering a resistant and biodegradable material and by regenerating the soils where it is planted.
Bamboo is a very varied material, depending on the type we can find very light types, but at the same time very rigid; other varieties can be heavier and flexible, and they exist slower growing varieties in which we can find very little marked veins and other varieties that can grow with an amazing speed.
This material has many colors, so it can bring variety to a number of products made from the same material. Its veins are very characteristic as well as its great resistance to pressure and not so much to traction. In construction it is widely used as a pillar or main structure on which to support an enclosure or wall. In fashion it is very used in small pieces of jewelry or watches and especially in glasses where this small flexibility allows the development of very varied models, but with a great resistance.
Another important feature to highlight is the small carbon footprint of this material. Being a completely natural material, CO2 emissions related to its cultivation are low, moreover, bamboo is one of the plants that absorbs more carbon dioxide, one of the main contributors to climate change, so it does a double function by reducing pollution where it is grown. For example, bamboo consumes carbon dioxide; a one-hectare plantation of bamboo produces 35% more oxygen than the same amount of ordinary trees. We can’t argue with those numbers. Bamboo also does not need much water, about 60% less than the average.
No chemicals or pesticides are needed in its cultivation. That’s great for us because these harmful and toxic chemicals can kill fish, birds and other wildlife or even harm humans as well.
Bamboo has a personality of its own, it is unique just like the trunk of a tree in the forest with an infinite variety of details that make each product made from this material totally unique. It may be thought that bamboo is at risk of disappearing, this is because in more developed countries it is more difficult to observe bamboo plantations and is concentrated in countries where cultivation is the engine of the economy or with large tracts of undeveloped land. But not everything was going to be favorable characteristics, bamboo has an important Achilles heel: it is fragile.
When our founders began the experience of starting the Parafina project, they looked for a material that reflected the values and ideas on which they wanted to base their company. In this case, bamboo, of which more than 1,000 different species are known, each with different characteristics that offer a wide variety of different applications and finishes, is a material used from construction to sunglasses, biomass, thermal insulation, vegetable fabrics.
The founders of Parafina sought to create a project that went beyond creating a sustainable product. In Parafina we opted for bamboo both for its various shapes, colors and its countless applications, this material mainly from the fields of Asia has a sustainable origin as its production so its cultivation and exploitation are considered very beneficial in the creation of sustainable products both in origin generating employment and wealth in rural areas as well as in destination.