Sustainable paper stocks have come a long way since speckled, off-white, brown recycled paper stocks were the best options available. These days, you can select recycled paper stocks that are as crisp and clean as a virgin stock, virgin paper stocks with a sustainable and verified forestry supply chain (if you’re curious about picking sustainable forestry certifications, click here to read this post!) or paper stocks made from alternative fibres. Alternative fibres are an awesome choice for sustainability, as they lessen the pressure on important forest systems for the creation of paper. These alternative stocks frequently require less energy, carbon, and water to create and can be made of reclaimed materials from fields or landfill that would otherwise be burned or lay to decay over many years.

Alternative fibres can be a beautiful way to elevate a project and create a positive environmental impact.

Alternative Fibres can be an incredible touchpoint with your consumer, as they feature beautiful colours, textures, and are certain to stand out on a shelf or spark delight when the consumer receives their package. By combining this with transparency about your sustainable choice to the consumer on the print piece or packaging itself, it can create a unique sustainable experience for your target demographic and build trust.

Throughout this blog post, we’re going to be featuring the Mohawk Renewal line of papers. We have no affiliate with Mohawk, we’re just huge fans of their paper stock line for its innovation and commitment to sustainable practices. Many other companies and printers feature comparable alternative stock papers ranging from bamboo to hemp to cotton.

Mohawk Renewal is an excellent line of paper stocks available in North America for eco-friendly print design and packaging projects. The papers are made to the highest standard of sustainable practices.

Hemp-Based Paper

Hemp has the ability to effectively replace paper, textiles, plastics and oil. Hemp is 3x times stronger than cotton, and it grows to maturity in approximately 90 days. It can be grown without pesticides, and has extremely low water use. It is a very resourceful and regenerative crop. The pulp produced from hemp can be archival quality, and results in extremely high quality durable papers. These papers are suitable for luxury print projects as well as packaging.

Hemp can also produce bio plastics that return naturally to the soil and are chemically different from traditional plastics. Meaning that is a very viable alternative for corn and sugarcane based bioplastics that are difficult or impossible to compost.

Straw-Based Paper

Straw-based paper is usually a residual agricultural waste after wheat is harvested. The straw is commonly lit on fire to burn off, which releases CO2 into the atmosphere. Instead of burning this waste product, it can actually be effectively turned into paper. Straw paper is best used when the straw has been reclaimed from these types of agricultural practices, instead of creating new crop land dedicated to paper production. Straw paper requires little to no bleaching and carries a beautiful cream or golden tone. The production of straw paper requires 25% less water and 70% less energy than traditional paper. If straw pulp creation and capacity existed, and 25% of the agricultural waste product of straw was pulped, it could actually supply all of North America's book and copy paper demand single handedly.

Recycled Cotton Paper

Cotton papers are usually made from recycled textile scraps such as T-shirts or jeans. It’s an eco-friendly alternative that feels like cloth (or US bills - those are made of linens). Textile pollution is a huge waste issue and huge environmental issue, especially for the use of cheap synthetic fibers that find themselves in landfills such as polyester, acrylics, and nylon. However, paper can actually be created from some of this textile waste, especially cotton scraps. Cotton paper creates extremely strong fibers that require less chemicals to produce. Cotton paper is extremely strong and high quality and feel similar to US dollar bills, which made our which are made out of a combination of cotton and linen.

Cotton farming itself is relatively unsustainable because it consumes large quantities of water and makes use of harsh pesticides and chemicals that pollute groundwater, and are harmful to our environment. However, reusing cotton textiles and reclaiming them into paper is an excellent way to recycle and reuse waste materials. Reclaiming textile material also lessens the pressure on landfills. Cotton can take 200 years to biodegrade, and the global volume of textile waste continues to rise every single year with the fast fashion industry. Colors are richer on cotton paper, and they can print inks and texts with extremely clear and crisp quality. Cotton paper is especially appropriate for wedding invitations and packaging.

Want to talk about how alternative paper stocks could fit into your next project? Fill out our contact form and we’ll be happy to talk to you about what the right fit would be.

Sources:

Mohawk Connects. “Mohawk Renewal.” Accessed March 24, 2021. https://www.mohawkconnects.com/mohawk-renewal.