On August 29th, 2022, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) officially published its new bamboo flooring-related standard, ISO 21629-2: 2022 Bamboo flooring – Outdoor use.
Bamboo flooring products account for a large proportion in bamboo products export. Especially in recent years, the international trade of outdoor bamboo flooring has been rising and the market share is on the increase year by year. The publishing of this new standard will help establish a sound system for the high-quality development of the outdoor bamboo flooring industry and make a positive contribution to the development of the global green economy.
The document specifies the technical requirements, test methods and requirements for the handling, storage, packaging and marking of outdoor bamboo flooring. It is applicable to outdoor bamboo flooring including bamboo laminated flooring and bamboo scrimber flooring. Dr Li Yanjun from the Nanjing Forestry University of China is the project leader and has organized the team responsible for drafting the standard. More than 20 research institutes, leading bamboo enterprises and testing institutions participated in the development of the standard.
The 2nd working group of ISO/TC 296 "Bamboo Flooring" is led by China. Mr. Wu Shengfu, Vice President of China Forest Products Industry Association, serves as the convenor of the working group. Since the project was approved, multiple physical working group meetings have been held successively in China (Beijing), Indonesia, Ethiopia, China (Nanjing) and the Philippines. During the meeting held in Manila, Philippines, the technical committee formally decided to divide the standard of "Bamboo Flooring" into two parts: bamboo flooring for indoor use and bamboo flooring for outdoor use. Experts and representatives from China, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Uganda and other countries worked together to discuss the drafts extensively and submitted the draft for Final Draft International Standard(FDIS) ballot in May, 2022. The standard was then published in August after meeting the approval criteria for FDIS ballot.
The official release of the ISO 21629-2: 2022 Bamboo flooring – Outdoor use has important and far-reaching significance in improving the world bamboo standardization system, standardizing the terminologies of bamboo flooring products and overcoming technical and trade barriers. It also plays a key role in promoting the efficient utilization of global bamboo resource and the rapid and orderly development of the international trade of bamboo flooring products.