Bahmbu would like you to join in the petition to end the practice of long line fishing and shark finning. Please watch the informative video attached and help spread the word.

What is shark finning?

Shark finning is the practice of slicing off the shark’s fins while the shark is still alive and throwing the rest of its body back into the ocean where it can take days to die what must be an agonising death. Some sharks starve to death, others are slowly eaten by other fish, and some drown, because sharks need to keep moving to force water through their gills for oxygen. Shark fins are used as the principal ingredient of shark fin soup, an Asian “delicacy”. Demand for shark fin soup has rocketed in recent years due to the increased prosperity of China and other countries in the Far East. Shark fin soup, which can easily cost $100 a bowl, is often served at wedding celebrations so that the hosts can impress their guests with their affluence. Because there is such a high demand for shark fins, traders can make a lot of money from shark fin, but it is the restaurant owners who really “make a killing” in this foul trade.

Fishermen are only interested in the fins because shark meat is of low economical value and takes up too much space in the hold. It also contains urea, which turns to ammonia once the shark has died and contaminates other fish.

Shark fin itself is tasteless, it just provides a gelatinous bulk for the soup which is flavoured with chicken or other stock. Many people, especially the consumers, are unaware of the sufferring that finning causes.

What effect has finning had on shark populations?

To put it bluntly, shark populations have been decimated. Globally. Tens of millions of sharks are slaughtered every year to satisfy the demand for shark fin soup; at least 8,000 tonnes of shark fins are shipped to restaurants around the world. Fishermen report that sharks are getting smaller because they are not being given time to mature. Shark populations take a long time to recover as they can take over seven years to reach maturity and they only raise one or two pups a year. Twenty species of sharks are listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). In a few years many species of shark could become extinct if action is not taken immediately. Populations of many shark species have fallen by over 90%. Since 1972 the number of blacktip sharks has fallen by 93%, tiger sharks by 97% and bull sharks, dusky sharks and smooth hammerheads by 99%.

What will happen to the oceans of sharks become extinct?

The consequences of the decline in shark populations on ocean life are immense. The large shark species are “apex” predators, they are ecological stablisers, once they are gone, all hell will break loose. For example along the US East Coast where large sharks such as black tip and tiger sharks have been virtually elimated, there have been declines in shellfish numbers and a reduction in water quality (shellfish filter sea water). Populations of small sharks, rays and skates have increased rapidly, consuming shellfish at an unsustainable rate. If you remove apex predators from an ecosystem the result is the same as removing the foundations from a building – total collapse.

In recent news, we are eager to announce that we’ve just teamed up with some phenomenal retail stores who are currently carrying a full range of Bahmbu products. Their stores and shelves are already fully stocked so be sure to check out these stellar shops and our beautiful Organic clothing products.

We will be profiling each of these wonderful stores on our blog in the coming days but in the meantime you can check out the links for location information and a sneak peak inside.

Planet Claire Fashion: http://www.planetclaire.ca/

Planet Claire Clothing

Scraps General Store: http://www.scrapsvancouver.com

The Good Planet Company: http://www.goodplanet.com

The Good Planet Company
Again, thank you to the wonderful people who operate these stylish shops and keep up the great work. Also, to all our customers, thanks for all your support and we are looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Aside from running Bahmbu and working hard to promote the brand I have many other passions which I try to enjoy as often as I can. If I were to mention just a few of my favourites I would have to list; music, photography, snowboarding, running, travel, nature and all things outdoors, generally speaking.

With that being said, I figured I would share with you a few images I took this past year while out enjoying my time away from work. All of these images were taken by myself and are reminders to me of some great moments enjoying nature with my camera & friends.

Hope you enjoy and be sure to follow us as there’ll be lots more to come.

Bahmbu- Lone Wolf near Revelstoke B.C.

Bahmbu- Boat Repair Sooke B.C.

Bahmbu- Abandoned Farm building in Saskatchewan

Bahmbu- Elk in Revelstoke

Bahmbu- Heron Fishing in Sooke Harbour B.C.

Bahmbu- Tofino Taxi Service

Bahmbu- Old Mooring Dock. Thunder Bay, Ont.

Bahmbu- Otter on the Canadian West Coast

√ Invent Machine of Mass Destruction

Pure Genius!

To start things off I just wanted to introduce you to a few of our core products. At Bahmbu we manufacture and offer a premium line of organic eco basics. Our complete line boasts beautifully designed cuts and silhouettes and our textile blends are thoughtfully selected and incredibly soft. At Bahmbu, we do not use any dyes and we use only the highest quality Organic cotton, Organic bamboo, Organic hemp and other quality materials. Ultimately, our products are beautiful, luxurious and above all, free from harmful chemicals often found in other clothing lines & products.

Here are a few product shots taken recently with Canadian Olympic Swimmer and a wonderful friend and person Christin P.

Bahmbu Racerback

Bahmbu Hemp/Bamboo Blended V Neck T

Bahmbu Organic T Shirt

Bahmbu Organic 3/4 Sleeve Top

We have just upgraded our site and integrated our blog within the WordPress community. At this time, we are in the process of moving some of the content from our previous blog over so bear with us as we develop our new page.

For those of you who are familiar with Bahmbu Clothing and our Brand please continue to check in often as we are growing quickly and have great things in the works. We will be sure to share insights with you and feature some great content on this blog!

For those of you who are new to Bahmbu {welcome} and here’s what we are all about:

At BAHMBU CLOTHING we believe sustainability is the way of the future and, as a business, every decision we make should be based on the Triple Bottom Line Philosophy (People, Planet & Profits). To uphold and stay true to the Triple Bottom Line Philosophy, while selecting fabrics & textiles, many innovative materials were researched and introduced to us. With sustainability, renewability, reusability and other ecological factors influencing our selection; Bamboo, Hemp, Organic cotton and Sorona each became feasible materials perfectly suited to helping us develop and design a more sustainable, fashionable and beautiful eco-responsible product line.

To learn more: Visit us at www.bahmbu.com