What Is Hemp Paper?
We know that industrial hemp produces some of the longest and strongest fibers in the plant world.
Hemp paper products are made from the pulp of hemp fibers. It can be anything from printer paper to filters to paper packaging.
Related: Are Hemp And Marijuana The Same Plant?
The first hemp paper showed up thousands of years ago in western China. It was a corse paper used for wrapping.
Years after its invention, the production of hemp paper was improved and was made by recycling other hemp products such as clothing, nets, and rags.
From there hemp paper took off and was spread all over the world. It was even used in Europe to print some of the first copies of the Bible ever made.
What Makes Hemp Paper Better?
If you want to compare hemp paper to wood paper the benefits are pretty clear.
Hemp Grows Faster Than Trees
Industrial hemp yields around 4 times more usable fibers per land area every year than forests.
It also grows way faster. It only takes a Cannabis Sativa plat 3-4 months to reach maturity while trees take a minimum of 20 years.
Besides that, industrial hemp crops have a lot of benefits to the land, one of the biggest being that they don’t require any pesticides to grow.
Hemp Requires No Toxic Bleaching
In order to make traditional wood paper products white, manufacturers use toxic chemicals like chlorine and dioxin to bleach the paper.
These chemicals are a huge pollution problem in the world. It stays in soil and water for years and can have dangerous reactions with minerals and other elements.
Being able to reduce their usage would be better overall.
Hemp paper can be made white by using hydrogen peroxide.
Hydrogen peroxide is more natural than chlorine. It’s water with an extra molecule added and it’s naturally occurring.
It also breaks down quickly and is non-toxic.
See Also: Is Hemp Considered A Drug?
Hemp Paper Is More Recyclable
Yes, paper made from wood pulp can be recycled. But only up to 3 times.
Because of the long and extra strong fibers that come from hemp, hemp paper can be recycled up to 8 times.
Hemp paper is also easy to make with other hemp products.
In fact, before major paper production started in the world, most hemp paper was made using recycled hemp textiles and other hemp products.
Hemp Fibers Are Age Resistant
Paper products made from wood age fast.
Unless they are kept in perfect conditions books made from wood based papers and other products yellow and break down in a relatively short amount of time.
Hemp fibers resist decomposition and will not yellow over time.
The paper products like books and documents we want to have for years would be more durable and survive longer if made from hemp instead.
More Cellulose
Looking at the fibers themselves hemp contains 57% cellulose while wood only contains 40-50%.
Cellulose is the main ingredient in paper, textiles, some consumables, and more.
More cellulose means better and faster paper production.
No More Deforestation
If all of the reasons above aren’t enough to argue that hemp paper is better, then the reduction of deforestation is another reason to make the switch.
Forests are an important key to keeping the earth healthy and cleaning the air we breathe.
More trees is a good thing, and hemp paper is a better way to replace wood paper products so we can keep the trees we have.
See Also: What Is Hemp Wick? How It’s Used & How To Make It Yourself
Hemp Paper Cost
Since growing Cannabis Sativa with or without high THC levels was banned back in the 1930’s the production of hemp paper was virtually stopped.
The world is geared towards the production of paper using wood pulp and today the infrastructure needed to make large amounts of hemp paper isn’t there.
Because of this, hemp paper production costs are around 4 times higher than wood paper production.
That doesn’t mean costs can’t be reduced by building up the industry and normalizing using hemp paper products.
The costs could greatly decrease in just a few years if everyone would come together and help eliminate wood based paper products.
Hemp is now legal to grow in the United States and it could be a game changer for the world of paper products if people started using it.
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Why We Should Be Using Hemp Paper Now
Even though it’s more expensive and can be harder to find than wood paper products, we should be using hemp paper now to help grow the industry.
The more money an industry makes the bigger it gets. Over time hemp paper could start replacing wood paper if people start asking for it.
Using hemp paper now will help reduce deforestation, and help with the negative impact the loss of trees is having on our planet.
It might seem like a small step. But it’s a simple thing we all can do to help out the future in a big way.
Have any questions about hemp paper? Leave a comment below.
