Here at Bambu Batu, the House of Bamboo, we are determined to build a better, more sustainable world from the bottom up. Of course, we also enjoy our fair share of wise cracks! But our Panda Poo Paper products are no joke. We looked high and low, extending our search to the ends of the earth, to source this incredible tree-free alternative to your ordinary, timber-based stationery.
Straight from the belly of the beast, these unique journals and note pads are truly fashioned from 100% Panda Bear excrement. Naturally, your gut reaction may be one of distaste. But before you turn up your nose in high-and-mighty disapprobation, let us consider the diet of the venerable Chinese mascot.
Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company
Give some people lemons and they will make lemonade. For the founders of the Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company, give them elephant, cow, horse or panda droppings, and they will make stationery. With the belief that products should fit into a cycle of responsibility and sustainability, the company fashions tasteful paper products from the less than tasteful leavings of fiber-munching animals. Beginning with elephant dung as their material of choice, the innovative enterprise intended to raise money and awareness for pachyderm well-being, at the same time providing jobs for those living in communities near parks and reserves.
Paper from panda poo
The paper itself is made from dried dung pulp, a substance generally high in fibrous materials. After collection, the poo is rinsed, leaving only the bamboo, fruits and veggies that the animal has consumed. The remains are boiled for sterilization, and color is added. Then, pulp from bamboo, banana trees and pineapples are mixed in to bolster the mush and to produce strength and thickness. The wet pulp is separated into flat cakes and pressed against screens which are left out in the sun to dry naturally.
Like us, the Pandas have a great fondness for bamboo. You might even call it an obsession, for, in fact, these exquisite creatures sustain themselves entirely on this hardy grass. Only extremely rarely do they consume anything else. And what goes in, must come out, so what we’re really talking about is simply bamboo paper, processed nature’s way, by the highly specialized enzymes found only in the digestive tract of the Panda. Alimentary, my dear Watson!
NOTE: the variety of bamboo preferred by the bears is not the same variety as that used in making bamboo products like flooring, clothing, cutting boards, etc., so these products pose no threat to the endangered panda’s livelihood.
Poo from bamboo
As a bamboo store with a sense of humor, there was no way that Bambu Batu could pass up the opportunity to carry this line of Panda Poo Poo paper. Each journal or tablet features a graphic of a panda nibbling on a piece of what will soon become material for the most unique paper product you will ever own. After all, panda poo is the end result of just one thing: bamboo. Indeed, bamboo comprises about 98% of the panda bear diet.
When we talk about panda poo, what we’re really dealing with is processed bamboo. Instead of pulping the woody bamboo stalks with harsh chemicals in a factory, the panda uses a natural process based on millions of years of evolution. It begins with some very thorough chewing.
Pandas have the ferocious, sharp teeth of carnivores, and yet they eat almost nothing but grass. Once in a while, they might catch a small rodent, but the vast majority of their sustenance is purely vegetarian. Still, the woody culms of bamboo make for a meal to reckon with. So they prefer the softer young shoots and leaves of the bamboo plant, but still, they’ll eat the whole thing.
From there, the panda’s belly runs like a well-oiled machine, to generate an end product available nowhere else: soft bamboo pulp in its most organic condition. The organic matter could make great fertilizer, but being so rich and fibrous, it’s actually the ideal substance for paper making.
That’s right, it’s more than just a political statement, it’s an environmental movement. So hurry down to Bambu Batu and get yourself a piece of the action, because it’s hardly an exaggeration to say that this shit is flying out of here!
NOTE: The Bambu Batu retail store closed in May 2020 at the onset of the pandemic, so, unfortunately, we no longer offer this irresistible product.
Further reading
To learn more about the great panda bear and the amazing uses of bamboo, before or after it’s been digested by panda, check out some of these other engaging articles.
Yes, I think these products are really gaining steam.