About BAMWOO
BAMWOO is on a mission to reduce plastic consumption and re-forest the planet
The first seedling of BAMWOO was born on Berawa beach in the Canggu region of Bali.
Walking back up the beach from a sunset surf session I could hardly believe the beauty of my surroundings, and how lucky I was to be enjoying them in such a manner - then I tripped over a plastic bottle.
The next day while floating in the line up waiting for a wave, I was dismayed to see a plastic bag float past me on the current.
Somehow the reality of the incomprehensibly mighty Indian Ocean being tainted by flimsy yet all but immortal plastic waste brought home to me the sheer amount of damage the human race is inflicting on our planet and our playgrounds in a way I'd never really understood before. At that moment, I resolved to do something about it.
Reducing plastic waste through biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes
At BAMWOO we are committed to reducing the amount of plastic we consume, but just as importantly, we want to make it EASY to use less plastic.
Our mission is to find sustainable biodegradable alternatives to the everyday products we can't do without - like toothbrushes.
No-one knows exactly how many plastic toothbrushes are thrown away each year to slowly choke and pollute our planet, but the numbers involved are truly mind-blowing: it's estimated that over 23 MILLION KILOGRAMS of plastic toothbrushes are thrown in to US landfill EACH YEAR, where they will remain for thousands of years.
And that is just the US. When you think that 90% of the world's 6.8 BILLION people use disposable plastic toothbrushes, it seems likely the true amount is much much more.
The worst part is that this is totally avoidable. Our bamboo toothbrushes are every bit as good as plastic options, and we think they're much more stylish too.
Shop for our biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes HERE
The 1 brush = 1 tree mission
We're not content with simply reducing the amount of plastic we use - we want to do more to actively make the world a better place too.Which is why we launched the 1 brush = 1 tree mission to re-forest the planet, by planting one tree for each toothbrush we sell. Through #onebrushonetree, we're fighting not just plastic pollution, but also climate change and poverty in the developing world.
Learn more about the 1 brush = 1 tree mission HERE
As of July 2023 we have planted 72,232 trees around the world. Conservatively each tree absorbs around 20 kilograms of CO2, so this equals a staggering 1.5 million kilograms of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere and sequestered each year!
This video shows a 360° view walkthrough of one of the sites our #onebrushonetree mission is helping to reforest in Laxmisthan, Nepal.
About our founder
BAMWOO was founded by Matt Clark. Matt is a British backcountry skier and whitewater kayaker who spends most of his time playing outdoors in the Austrian Alps.
Growing up obsessed with David Attenborough's natural history television programmes Matt developed a deep love for and connection with the wild places on our planet: when asked at school what he wanted to become when he grew up his standard answer was 'I want to live in the bush and be a conservationist.'
Following a BSC Geography at the University of Aberdeen Matt discovered a passion for travel too, and has been lucky enough to kayak in Uganda, surf in Indonesia, and ski in Japan, Russia and India.