Hemp is a sustainable alternative to tree paper that can help reduce deforestation and protect the planet. Hemp paper is made from long liber fibers or short lifter fibers (hurd) from the hemp plant, and it has many advantages over tree paper. Hemp paper is significantly better for the planet, as it requires fewer chemicals in the manufacturing process and less land and resources to grow. In addition, hemp paper is more durable and doesn't turn yellow, crack or deteriorate.
It can also be recycled more than tree paper, making it a valuable alternative to conventional paper made from trees. Hemp can prevent deforestation: 1 acre of hemp can produce as much paper as 4 to 10 acres of trees over a 20-year cycle. Wider use of hemp paper can help sustainability efforts reduce deforestation. The hemp crop grows more than 60 times faster than trees, and the overall quality of hemp paper is better.
Compared to wood pulp, hemp pulp offers four to five times longer fiber, a significantly lower lignin fraction, and greater tear and tensile strength. The first identified thick paper, made from hemp, dates from the early Western Han Dynasty, 200 years before the nominal invention of papermaking by Cai Lun. Cloth paper (papers made from materials such as hemp, cotton and linen fibers) from the 16th century is still strong, stable in color and flexible. When Johannes Gutenberg created printing in 1440 or so, the use of paper in the world increased rapidly.
Because of its pure, long and strong cellulose fibers, hemp paper is known to be chemically and mechanically stable, making it durable. The quality of paper is actually higher than that of wood, since hemp pulp is much better for paper than wood pulp. But there are critics who claim that paper companies are planting fast-growing eucalyptus trees after clearing the land, which is not a good substitute for natural forests as biodiversity and wildlife are destroyed.
Once hemp is cultivated
, however, the soil is left in optimal growth conditions so that new hemp crops can be planted and cultivated immediately with the same success.Between 1934 and 1935, hemp cultivation began to increase, but still at a very low level and without a significant increase in the paper derived from hemp. Hemp paper is a valuable alternative to conventional paper made from trees and could provide a more renewable source to cover much of the world's paper needs. Wider use of hemp paper can help sustainability efforts reduce deforestation and protect the planet.
