It giant vows to expand use of sustainable bamboo packaging.

Dell will start shipping two of its products padded with bamboo cushioning, a part of the company's broad plan to reduce its packaging while using more recyclable material.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 and Mini 10v netbooks will be cradled in cushioning made from bamboo instead of the typical paper pulp, foam or corrugate that is used to protect electronics. The outer cardboard box for the netbooks will contain 25 per cent post-consumer recycled material.

Dell is sourcing its bamboo from a forest in China's Jiangxi Province that is not near known panda habitats and follows Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) principles and criteria. Dell is working with bamboo packaging supplier Unisource Global Solutions to receive FSC certification for the full chain of custody, from forest to manufacturing plant, for the bamboo.

Dell is also in the process of certifying the packaging for recycling so that recyclers will clearly known that the material can be recycled instead of tossed in the trash.

The bamboo cushioning is another step in Dell's larger plan, announced in December 2008, to shrink its packaging volume by 10 per cent - equating to 20m pounds of material - increase the amount of recycled content in packaging by 40 per cent and increase the amount of recyclable material in packaging by 75 percent, all by 2012.

While its starting off using bamboo with just the two netbook items, Dell says it plans to expand the bamboo cushioning to more products starting in early 2010.

This article first appeared at GreenerDesign.com