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October 2007
The Re-Emergence of a Tree-Free Marketplace
Non-wood fibers serve as primary paper source
by Jennifer Gerholdt, Magazine PAPER Project Coordinator
The use of recycled materials was the only source for producing paper for thousands of years. The first recycled paper dates back 2,000 years to Chinese official Ts'ai Lun. He used rags, fishing nets, hemp, and China grass to make paper for the Chinese royal court in the second century. The Europeans started producing paper in the 1400’s, and within two hundred years paper mills all across Europe were using old cloth rags and linen to make paper.
The first paper mill in what would become the United States was built near Philadelphia in 1690 by Dutch papermaker William Rittenhouse. Recycled rags were used to make paper, thus launching the recycled paper industry. The first patent for deinking paper was issued in 1800.
The Re-emergence of Non-Tree Paper Sources
Tree-free papers are gaining attention due the harmful environmental and social impacts of paper production, as well as wood fiber shortages. Those skeptical of using non-wood sources for paper should remember that sourcing trees for paper is only a recent phenomenon; up until the 1850’s crops and agricultural residues served as the chief paper sources.
Agricultural residues and crops are both considered to be viable paper options. They are environmentally preferable because:
- Trees are not harvested to make paper, easing pressures placed on forests
- Tree-free production requires less energy, water, and chemicals than papers from tree sources
- There is an abundant supply of non-wood sources to meet a high demand
Alternative Fibers Available Now
There are a variety of agricultural residues available now that can be used to make paper, including: wheat straw, rice straw, sugar cane bagasse, and flax. The generally lower costs for agricultural residue fibers are becoming cost-competitive with wood fibers.
- Wheat straw. Wheat is one of the United States’ most common and abundant crops, and the straw can be used to make paper. Mills in both India and China currently use wheat straw to manufacture paper
- Rice straw and sugar cane bagasse. There are already numerous rice and bagassee paper mills around the world which can produce many high quality paper types
- Flax. The length and strength of flax fibers make it an optimal paper source (fibers that are recycled over and over again become shorter each time they are recycled). The fact that flax fibers are longer than wood fibers indicates that flax fibers can be recycled more often
Other agricultural residue paper sources include: rye, corn, and grass seed.
Crops such as hemp, kenaf, and cotton are also available to make high quality paper.
- Hemp. Like flax, hemp’s fiber length and strength make it an ideal option for replacing wood fibers
- Kenaf. The U.S. Department of Agriculture deemed kenaf the best option for making tree-free papers in the United States. Kenaf fibers are similar to wood fibers, which increases the compatibility with the current North American mill structure. Kenaf is a fast-growing plant that can be harvested over months and stored for up to four years. Pulping kenaf requires less energy than wood pulp, and is easily bleached with chlorine free processes
- Cotton. Cotton pulp is still commonly used in paper mills today. Cotton pulp can be mixed with post-consumer recycled fibers to make high quality papers
Next Steps
In order to develop a tree-free paper market, magazine publishers can take practical steps such as:
- Work with the magazine’s mill and printer to demonstrate an interested in, and preference for, tree-free options. Encourage the supply chain to research non-wood fiber options, and determine a timeline for implementing tree free fibers into the magazine’s paper production
- Include a preference for non-wood paper sources in an environmental stewardship policy that will signal the demand for non-wood options. While most magazines’s may not yet be in a position to switch to tree free papers, it is still important to include this as a long-term goal as staff look towards the future of the company’s sustainability efforts and practices
- Support companies that offer tree free options, such as Green Field Paper Company and Vision Paper. Purchase tree free business cards, envelopes, stationary, spiral bound books, specialty papers, and much more
As pressures increase on the world’s forests, the need to rely on alternative paper sources will become inevitable. The leap to tree free papers is not so far-fetched, as it was how paper as everyone knows it “evolved” in the first place. Research is ongoing to better understand tree free options, its challenges, and ability to serve as the primary paper source in the near future.
Resources/For Further Reading
Conservatree
Paper Listening Study
Tree Free Listing
Markets Initiative: Agricultural Fiber and the Second Harvest Paper Project
Hurter, Robert W. 2001. "Nonwood Plant Fiber Uses in Papermaking" Extracted from "Agricultural Residues", TAPPI 1997 Non-wood Fibers Short Course Notes, updated and expanded September 2001.
Motovalli, Jim. "The Paper Chase," E Magazine, May/June 2004
Paper Task Force. "Nonwood Plant Fibers as Alternative Fiber Sources for Papermaking" (White Paper 13) (July 1996)
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