Star Bamboo Singapore

Got a sms from Olivia of Green Drinks that we’re in this month’s Tatler. The interview was done in April, so it had totally slipped my mind.

Singapore Tatler is a high society magazine, which I only read while in my dentist’s waiting room.

So when I had to actually buy it, I searched high and low for it. It’s not available in the magazine racks at the petrol stations, nor could I find it in Popular and Times Bookstores.

Finally I managed to buy a copy of the June 2009 issue from a magazine kiosk in IMM.

Tatler comes in many editions. Make sure you get the right issue, it’s the one with Nadya on the front page. This issue’s focus is on the environment, and here’s our article:

[Update on 26 Jun: Click here for full-sized image]

We’ve got a full-page photo of one of our bamboo flooring projects. This is our Carbonised Horizontal bamboo flooring.

Just a short quote from my interview: ” We get feedback from customers all the time that they would have chosen bamboo flooring if they had known of such an eco-friendly product.”

All too true.

The main feature is “Earth Angels”, highlighting four celebrities who are doing their part to save the earth.

There’s our perennial favourite eco-celeb, Nadya. Check out her new web site – Green Kampung. It’s shaping up nicely with lots of good content. She wasn’t kidding when she said she’s kicking off a series of media initiatives to drum up publicity for her web site.

There’s Howard Shaw too, who’s the executive director of Singapore Environment Council (SEC). SEC is the body that gives us our Green Label certification. SEC’s recent charity screening of “Home” was held at Shaw Lido, so I’m guessing that he’s related to Shaw Cinemas.

Claire Chiang is up next. Together with Ho Kwon Ping, she’s one half of the husband-and-wife team behind the Banyan Tree Resorts. Running a successful chain of resorts means she has the chance to actively practise what she preaches for the environment, and the Banyan Tree group is well-known for their environmental efforts.

The last Angel is Audrey Tay of the Hour Glass family. I’m actually not too familiar with her eco-efforts, but apparently she’s a regular in fund-raisers for groups such as SEC and the Save Our Planet Foundation.

The articles are well worth a read. As a bonus, there are lots of photos of beautiful people too.

So pick up your copy today!

By far, the most popular post on this blog is “Bamboo flooring that fits any budget“. As of today, it has garnered over 60 comments and the greatest number of page views.

Rather surprising considering that the post was written over 2 years ago, and buried deep within the blog.

In the article, I discussed how the perceived high cost of bamboo flooring shouldn’t deter customers because it is surprisingly affordable. In fact, it is similar in pricing to some laminate flooring.

As a result, we have received many enquires from customers expecting to get good quality long strip bamboo flooring at laminate flooring prices.

I have to clarify here that each type of flooring can differ widely in quality and prices. If we compare high quality laminate flooring with some of our special discount bamboo flooring, then the difference is minor.

However, most customers going for laminate flooring is choosing it precisely because it’s cheap. So they would select the lower-end range instead.

Bamboo flooring is an eco-friendly alternative to long strip hardwood flooring, and should be compared against them. Even parquet floor (using small pieces of wood flooring) is one class below.

Bamboo flooring might be more expensive than most laminate flooring. But what we should be asking is:

Does bamboo flooring offer better value than laminate flooring?

Definitely yes.

Laminate flooring tends to look tired and worn after a couple of years, especially the budget range. Being a plastic composite product, it cannot be re-sanded. The only option is to replace the entire floor.

Bamboo flooring, on the other hand, is hard and durable (some 20% harder than teak flooring). It is designed to last a lifetime.

You can even re-sand it 3-4 times, and get a brand new floor each time. The cost of re-sanding is just a fraction of getting a new laminate floor.

Take a longer perspective, and you’ll see just why bamboo flooring offers such excellent value.

And one thing is for sure, bamboo flooring looks much more natural and elegant than laminate flooring:

Apartment bedroom (South Korea)

Office reception area (Singapore)

So just give us a ring at 65659217 if you want to have such beautiful and eco-friendly floors in your home or office!

Saw on yesterday’s news that 2 Singapore companies are reprimanded for misusing the Singapore Environment Council’s (SEC) Green Label logo. They inserted the logo on their products when they were not certified.

Green Label Singapore is “a voluntary accreditation for environmentally-friendly products by SEC”.

The Today newspaper report has more details on the case. I couldn’t find the article on the Todayonline web site, here is a scan below:

 The Green Label Singapore programme was started in 1999, and this is the first known case of misuse. It means that awareness of Green Label has reached a critical mass. Consumers are now making their influence felt by requesting for Green Label products.

Use of the logo must always be accompanied by an identification number.

At Star Bamboo, our bamboo flooring has been accredited since 2006. The Green Label Singapore logo appears on all our marketing material, along with our ID number 035-004.

We are certified not just because bamboo is a rapidly renewable material (that would mean ALL bamboo flooring is eco-friendly, which is obviously not the case).

At Star Bamboo, we take a holistic approach beginning with responsible sourcing of raw materials, use of low/zero-emission chemicals in our production, careful disposal and recycling of waste materials, and also proper welfare for our workers. The entire production is audited twice-yearly by a German company.

Green Label Singapore has been officially recognised under Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark programme since Jan 2008. Developers are now approaching Star Bamboo for our bamboo flooring, as it is a certified eco-friendly product and eligible for Green Mark points.

With a growing demand for eco-friendly products, it is no wonder some companies are taking a shortcut to tap into this market.

So be aware, and make the right choice!

The 5th of June has been designated as World Environment Day.

In Singapore, we have the Eco Action Day 2009. So the emphasis is on the simple and concrete steps you can take to help the environment.

Star Bamboo has participated in past years, so I’m helping the organisers to publicise the event: