Walk into Cali Bamboo’s headquarters in San Diego, and one will see floor-to-toe bamboo. Bamboo plywood, bamboo flooring, bamboo thatching -- it’s all there.
Founded with the planet in mind, the company is marketing bamboo as a superlative building material that is easy on the environment because it’s never cut down -- just trimmed, so it always grows back.
”We’re in business, but we’re also in the business to try to get people to use a product that makes sense for the planet,” Cali Bamboo President Jeff Goldberg said.
Surfboards in Cali Bamboo’s boardroom are a reminder of the company’s inception. It was on a year-long surfing sabbatical that former engineer, Goldberg and his now-partner Tanner Haigwood, decided to go into business. Goldberg was cutting bamboo stalks for $10 an hour in Kauai, Hawaii, and developed an interest in bamboo as a natural resource.
“I was just looking for something to do with the environment that would let us live,” he said, noting that as a bio-technical engineer, he had developed an interest in renewable resources. Bamboo is a self-replenishing resource that restores itself every three years that doesn’t need to be replanted. It’s competitor, wood, takes over 50 years to grow after being replanted.
It’s why one of the company’s mottos is “saving the planet, one fence at a time.”
But they aren’t marketing a pile of sticks. Bamboo is stronger than Brazilian cherry wood and even low-grades of steel, Goldberg said. Though now commercially grown, the plant is considered a weed – and it grows quickly like one, all the while producing more oxygen than a tree of its same size.
The idea for Cali Bamboo started in 2003. By summer 2004, the company was selling bamboo fencing. Now they have over 100 products, in 11 product lines.
“We just started from the ground up -- pounding pavement, knocking doors, calling people we knew, calling people we didn’t know,” Goldberg said.
He credits the company’s success on the Internet and the efforts of people to “go green.” Designers and contractors have incorporated Cali Bamboo products into their project because it helps them achieve LEED certification.
As for going online, Goldberg said the more the popularity of the Internet has increased, the more his business has. The company is on the first page in a Google search of “bamboo fence” and “bamboo plywood.”
“Basically there really wasn’t anyone selling bamboo in a national way,” Goldberg said.
The company has expanded based on need. They started offering flooring because it’s the top bamboo product in the country. The durable flooring can last decades.
Not every product has worked, Goldberg said, smiling as he recalls colored fencing -- bamboo stained in reds and greens that he said looked more like a holiday decoration than a backyard accessory.
But, from the experiments with staining, came rich, dark colored fencing. It’s one of the company’s most popular fence colors -- the mahogany stained, dark-colored fence.
A bamboo fence costs more than a wood fence, Goldberg said, noting that for an 8-foot section of bamboo fencing, of average height, the cost would be $30.
However, there are a few reasons why Goldberg believes bamboo is a better building material. It’s a durable product, that last up to 25 years. Cali Bamboo fencing is certified as hurricane resistant in Miami Dade County. While the stalks of bamboo are close enough to provide privacy, there are gaps where wind can pass through, making it less likely to take off like a kite in high winds like a solid wood fence could, Goldberg said.
Beyond Miami, customers of Cali Bamboo are spread through the country. They are popular with do-it-yourselfers, who like that the sections come in easy-to-use rolls. Contractors also order the fences and install them for their clients. Retailers also redistribute Cali Bamboo across the country.
Those in San Diego benefit from having no shipping charge, if they come pick up the fence from the company’s San Diego headquarters.
The commitment to giving back to the Earth lives on in the company. The company is a member of 1 Percent for the Planet, a group of corporations that have agreed to donate one percent of their income to environmental organizations.
Last year, Cali Bamboo donated $24,000. Of that, $8,000 went to the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation; another $8,000 went to the national organization. Another $5,000 went to Coast Keepers. The rest was distributed to other earth-conscious non-profits.
Cali Bamboo is also popular at businesses. Goldberg said their bamboo has been featured on movie sets in Hollywood, many major theme parks, retail stores such as Bloomingdales, Polo Ralph Lauren and Adidas. Naked Café in San Diego used products from Cali Bamboo to decorate their restaurant.
Part of the casual environment, involves Goldberg and Haigwood bringing their shepherd-sized dogs, Butch and Duke to work everyday. They wander through the office, greeting newcomers and sleeping in the boardroom.
“We’re selling bamboo, we’re not selling organs,” said Goldberg. “It’s not life or death. You’ve got to keep it loose.” |
