The reason was that bamboo does well in wet climates where the moisture in the air keeps in flexible. (or something like that) But in the US, it's much drier (most places) than in Japan.
This fits with my experience of bamboo furniture over the years as well. It becomes brittle and fragile the older it gets. But oak/pine/maple don't seem to suffer this fate nearly as bad.
In addition, the bamboo ski poles may have been thoroughly dried by kiln heating and sealed with some type of resin or lacquer to prevent moisture ingress, especially if they were made to get wet.
I vaguely remember the sealant is not really food safe, which is why many bambio utensils still crack after a few years.
This is all speculation -- but products made a scale are often made with high efficiency.
What surely works is when we ask big corporations to do the right thing. Or if we managed to tax environmental impact.
2) buy as cheap as possible.
3) invest your money in green initiatives.
That way I don't think you'll go all wrong.
Your tomato example probably depends on the time of year, your location, the farm. And even then how are you storing it? Fridge? Cupboard? So probably not generally answerable.
I know Tesco (a uk supermarket) started labelling with embodied CO2, but gave up.
I do agree with you though. Even some marketing regs, so when someone claims something is greener, it actually is.
It does look good and flexes if you don't glue it down and run an underlay.
I also have some bamboo spoons and spatulas that get used almost daily and they have lasted for many years as well. I wash them in the dishwasher, which perhaps gives them the level of moisture needed to stay good.