Hemp Paper: The Future of Printing
Apr 17th 2024
In a collaborative effort to create a "tree-free letterpress paper" that can be successfully used in commercial printing, photographer and environmental activist, Maren Krings, and German paper manufacturer, Hahnemühle, have produced one of the first commercially viable hemp papers in the world!
There are numerous advantages to hemp paper over traditional paper from trees. For instance, hemp fibers are four to five times longer than wood, which results in a much stronger paper.
Additionally, growing hemp for paper is much more environmentally sustainable. Hemp requires fewer herbicides because the plant is able to eliminate weeds on its own, it uses less water than other traditional crops, and it can even be used to help clean the air and soil around it.
"One hectare of hemp sequesters between 9-15 metric tons of CO2—which is similar to the amount sequestered by a young forest of the same size. Hemp, of course, grows far faster. In fact, hemp grows about as fast as bamboo, making it among the fastest growing crops on the planet."
Hemp also produces in much higher amounts compared to wood, with one field of hemp producing about "five times as much paper as a forest of the same size."
Unfortunately, industrial hemp as a crop is still in its early stages of development, making hemp paper a more expensive alternative to wood-based paper.
However, with many industries moving to find new, more sustainable manufacturing options, we are likely to see more an more products like paper being made from hemp. When hemp becomes a more commonplace material for production, we will hopefully see price changes that allow hemp to successfully compete with traditional materials.
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