With the legalization of cannabis, the industry has grown in both popularity and profitability. Many businesses have created a variety of cannabis-infused products and services. From cannabis-infused foods to cannabis oil massages, the doors have been swung wide open, and the possibilities of use of the cannabis plant are endless. For the print industry, it has reintroduced eco-friendly hemp paper - the world’s first paper.
The Rise & Fall Of Hemp Paper
Hemp paper dates back to China’s early Western Han Dynasty around 200-150 BC. Over the years it was used in historical documents and literature like the Gutenberg Bible in 1454 and the novels of Mark Twain. Hemp paper was even used for postal stamps, banknotes, and bonds in Russia in the 1800s. It remained popular till the turn of the century when tree paper took its place. In the 1930s, tree paper quickly overtook the production of hemp when textile companies and newspapers lobbied to prohibit the cultivation of hemp in the USA. This groundbreaking law came as a shock to many as the magazine “Popular Mechanics’ had dubbed hemp as the “billion-dollar crop” just months prior.
Since then, hemp has flown under the radar with tree paper continuing to dominate the paper industry. With environmentalism becoming more of a priority and a forceful push to legalize cannabis in the last 20 years, the prohibit was lifted, and cannabis was legalized in certain states in the USA. Today hemp products including paper, have slowly but steadily grown in popularity.
But why use hemp paper instead of tree paper? The answer is simple: it is an eco-friendly product. With more brands shifting towards products and services that are environmentally friendly - from green consulting to organic spas - the use of hemp paper should be the next for any business.
Two things are essential when it comes to the production of paper: land for growing and time to produce the plants. For both of these factors, hemp trumps trees!
The Benefits Of Using Hemp Paper For Business
Take your brand to the next eco-friendly level with the use of hemp paper. Whether you choose to use hemp paper for invitations, envelopes, or business cards, it has plenty of benefits, including the following:
Less Land & Time Needed
Did you know that by switching to hemp paper you’ll be helping to save millions of acres of forest and wildlife habitats? Two things are essential when it comes to the production of paper: land for growing and time to produce the plants. For both of these factors, hemp trumps trees! One acre of hemp produces the equivalent amount of paper that up to ten acres of trees. And unlike tree paper that takes 20 to 80 years to grow, hemp plants only take four months to mature.
More Paper With Less Plant
A single hemp plant can produce more paper than a single tree because it contains a high cellulose content and low lignin content! Let’s start with cellulose, which is the main ingredient in all paper. Wood is made up of 30% of cellulose while hemp has 85% cellulose content making hemp far superior to wood. When it comes to lignin - which is in both wood and hemp - it is essential to remove this ingredient from the plant pulp before it can be processed into paper. It can only be extracted from the plant with toxic chemicals. Hemp contains 5-24% of lignin while wood contains 20-35% making the hemp plant more eco-friendly as it is made with fewer toxic chemicals.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Paper - more so newspaper and magazines - is one of the most recycled products in the world. But most paper that is recycled is made of wood, which means it can only be recycled three times. Unlike tree paper, hemp paper can be recycled up to seven times, making it more recyclable.
Higher Quality
Even though this might not be an eco-friendly reason to bring to your business, it is a notable one. The quality of hemp paper is far superior to tree paper as it does not yellow, crack, or deteriorate. So whether you use it for notebooks, a print project or a birthday card, you are guaranteed a higher quality product.
Join the cannabis movement by getting our Cannabis Business Cards, which is made of hemp paper the has been created with real cannabis leaves. These THC-and-odour-free business cards are perfect for brands that incorporate cannabis into their products and services. Our hemp paper is also FSC certified, which means that it has been produced in an environmentally, economically, and socially responsible way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lara Moses
Lara Moses is the founder of Copy In The Cloud, a social media and blog management agency for wedding professionals. For almost 10 years, she worked in corporate business as an editor, copywriter, and writer for brands including Seventeen Magazine and Traveller24. In 2014, after leaving her 9-5 job, she co-founded Freemadic while freelancing as a writer and social media manager.
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