Super Eco

Photo credit: Cleaner Greener China

Does the phrase "bamboo keyboard" bring to mind a Flinstonian eco-substitute like tires made from rock and a ram's horn telephone? Yeah, it does for me too. A wooden keyboard? Whatever will we do without all that plastic?

But this is pretty cool: Chinese bamboo floor manufacturer Jiangqiao has been using leftover bamboo scraps to fashion keyboards since last October. Next up is a bamboo USB optical mouse. The keyboards are selling like, well not quite like hotcakes but they're gaining in popularity. And Jiangqiao's eco keyboard, crafted entirely from bamboo except for the electronic bits inside, differs from other bamboo keyboards that have plastic buttons and only a housing made from bamboo. Cool, no?

We're liking the idea; bamboo is way more sustainable than plastic, and we all know someone (cough) with a closetful of old chunky plastic keyboards, don't we? Since it's a grass, when bamboo is harvested only the top bits are used leaving the rest of the plant to keep growing.

Get your all-bamboo, all-the-time fix from a few more cool things made from bamboo:

• Travel utensil kit, also good for camping (do I hear staycation?)
• Baby blankies. Aww.
• Dishes. No, really!