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Beautiful, fast-growing bamboo

Bamboo is a fast-growing grass that rarely needs replanting - it will grow back under normal growing conditions after harvest. In fact, some varieties can grow up to a metre a day when the plant is young. That's why we are increasingly using it as a raw material for IKEA products.

The hands of a weaver sitting down hand-weaving a bamboo lattice from long, thin strands of bamboo.

Why we love bamboo

Bamboo is renewable, recyclable and durable – it’s a great material for many well-used products. Its strength also means that structural elements and boards can be made thin, so we can use less material per product than with other materials, natural resources are saved, and transport costs can be reduced.

Hundreds of bamboo rods drying outdoors on shelves. The shelves on which they are drying are also made of bamboo.

That despite its size, bamboo is not a tree but actually a grass.

Bamboo facts

  • Grows in a wide variety of environments and is adaptable and flexible
  • Generally doesn’t require fertilisers or irrigation
  • Grows extremely fast
  • Rarely needs replanting
  • Protects the land where it grows
Two SINNERLIG lamps hanging above a selection of dark green, brown and grey tableware with a pine tree in the background.

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world and as a young plant can grow up to one meter per day.

How IKEA uses bamboo

IKEA products that feature bamboo are mainly made from two parts of the plant - the bottom and the middle. Lamellae are used for panels in accessories and furniture, and wickers are used for handicraft techniques such as rolling and weaving. Below are some examples of IKEA products made from bamboo.

NORDISKA small wardrobe containing some folded towels, some storage boxes and a couple of hanging garments.
The hands of a person using APTITLIG bamboo chopping board and a large kitchen knife to slice a zucchini.
Three DRAGAN boxes in different sizes on a bathroom shelf. In them are various toiletries and some toothbrushes.
Two KNIXHULT pendant lamps in a dining room. In the background are a bunch of flowers and a shelving unit full of tableware.
SALUDING laundry basket with a white towel hanging over the top. Beside it is a bamboo shelving unit.
A FULLSPÄCKAD serving tray loaded with various biscuits and muffins as well as some napkins. In the background is a teapot.
TENHULT step stool upon which is a glass of water and wooden bowl containing a book, a wooden ring and some dried leaves.
A BULLIG box filled with LP’s on the floor in front of a shelving unit. The shelves are filled with more BULLIG boxes.

Claims made on this the page come from the paper Yannick Kuehl, Giles Henley and Lou Yiping: “The Climate Change Challenge and Bamboo: Mitigation and Adaption”, INBAR working paper no 65.