Mindzle

Posts Tagged ‘kitchen accessories’

At a time when the only kitchen recycling that seems to be going on is the regurgitation of naff TV programme ideas for celebrity cooking, kitchen challenges, cooking for idiots, rotating dinner parties in the homes of various insane weirdo’s or restaurant rants by potty-mouthed ex footballers, the concept of genuinely eco-friendly and ethical kitchen accessories and home furnishings may seem horribly quaint, not to mention middle class.

Those of us who enjoy cooking but would also like to do our bit to save resources and the environment can feel unbelievably superior and smug by choosing kitchen accessories that once had a former existence. Recycled cast iron cookware is also readily available with a range of pots and pans that are extremely durable and built to last. These recycled pans are free from enamel or any chemical coating so no noxious materials are released, even when the pan is heated to over300° C.  An oxide film which is produced naturally on the surface prevents the pan from rusting and provides an effective non-stick surface, so these pans are even better for cooking.

The more obvious candidates for recycled kitchen products are tableware items.Many products made from eco friendly materials can be obtained, such as handmade linen, bamboo, raffia and bead placemats.  Most are also ethically sourced from co-operatives supporting fair pay and rights for workers.

Home furnishings too can be just as ethically responsible but functional and attractive.Fabrics can enhance your living space with throws made from sustainably sourced materials and yarns, hand-made on traditional looms.There’s even a range of ingenious , attractive, wall clocks that look like elegant slate timepieces but are manufactured only from recycled vending machine coffee cups. The cups are sourced directly from the national Save-A-Cup scheme and processed into creations that look fantastic in the home of the garden.

OK, so the Bamboo PC it was a gimmick. The laptop version of the bamboo PC launched last March at a computer fair in Hanover. It featured a laminated bamboo casing which was around a standard laptop, meaning that no less plastic was needed in making it.

Although the bamboo computers won’t make a huge difference to the environment, it did prove how versatile material really is.

Bamboo must be the only plant on the planet that is a source of food, works as building materials and woven fabrics. One of the early light bulbs created by Edison used bamboo. Because the material is so string, resiliant and cheap to use, it is used widely in building throughout Asia. The fibres within bamboo poles have both high tension strength, as well as high compression strength. It’s compressive strength works out around twice that of concrete, bamboo also has the same tensile strength to weight ratio as steel. Now there’s even a bamboo laptop!

Bamboo will please anyone whose buying eco-friendly home furnishings. For a start, bamboo is an extremely sustainable material. Some bamboo species are able to grow more than one metre every day. Local people are able to cut down as much bamboo as they need for carving or weaving and still have the same amount growing as they did before they cut some down. As for the global warming problem, because bamboo is a plant, all products made out of the sustainable material contains a large amount of atmospheric carbon. The plastic equivalent of a bamboo product is worse for the environment as it actually adds to the levels of carbon in the atmosphere!

Another point is that because bamboo is a plant source, there are many variations between two plants, these variations make it a difficult material to use in a mass production process. What this means is that you can be almost positive that a skilled craftsman has built the bamboo product you buy. If you go to a reputable source you’ll also know that the craftsman got a fair wage for his or her work, and that no one was exploited by western buying power. The final thing is that you’ll be sure that the item you bought hasn’t gathered any air miles during its creation.

With eco credentials this strong, it’s a surprise bamboo built products are so beautiful. Just picture a hand crafted bamboo box, layered 15 times with natural shellac. Both stylish and natural. Only the other day, I bought an amazingly crafted bamboo knife block and am seriously considering following suit with other bamboo kitchen accessories such as salad bowls. Stylish and ethical. Win.