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Articles Archive Index
Issue 1
Kenaf: the Clearcut Alternative
by Kylie Loynd
In the Pacific Northwest, you get plenty of time to ponder, as you drive along staring at the freshly cut ends of immense trees piled into the back of a big rig. Each time I see this, I wonder how long the demand for lumber can possibly be sustained by the dwindling supply. I've had my share of debates about clearcutting, deforestation and what we will do when building with timber just isn't an option anymore. Whenever a tree-free idea comes my way, it has a personal draw.
 Kenaf, the clearcut alternative: as a slogan, it catches my eye. As a publisher and consumer, I love this plant.
Kenaf (pronounced ke-NAF), Hibiscus cannabinus L, is a 4000-year-old plant with roots in Africa that offers an excellent, tree-free paper alternative. Related to cotton and okra, it is grown worldwide, including in the southern U.S. as an annual fiber crop. Its inner stalk fibers are used in a variety of applications, such as particleboard in dashboards and seats for the automotive industry, animal bedding, and for pollution cleanup (kenaf's core fiber absorbency is ideal for soaking up chemicals and oil). Unlike hemp, whose longer fibers are most commonly used in textiles and ropes, kenaf's outer stalk has shorter fibers similar to the best softwood fibers used to make paper. In the 60s the USDA deemed it "the most viable replacement for trees for commercial pulp and papermaking in the U.S." Where has it been since then?
"The concept of tree-free paper is not a new one. The fact that none of them have managed to survive is testimony to the difficulties of printing on tree-free papers of the past. Kenaf has turned out to be a reliable, stable sheet that is free from the defects and debris specs that are typically associated with tree-free and high recycled content papers.
We have talked to many business owners in the Pacific Northwest who are environmentally conscience and have expressed a keen interest in an alternative to virgin pulp wood papers. Kenaf fits the bill to a "T." We plan to promote this product and hopefully increase its demand in the future. Simply put, Kenaf could revolutionize the print paper industry. Only time will tell and only if consumers ask for it."
— Gary Bollinger Smith, Northwest Publishing Center, www.nwpublishingcenter.com
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From forest to farm: The paper industry is our country's largest single consumer of wood. How about a switch? As an environmental product, kenaf reigns king for its ability to replace, not merely supplement, wood in the papermaking process. Its pulp is lighter in color than wood and is easily processed without chlorine — no dioxins or other chlorine compounds are created or released in its manufacture. Due to its low lignin content (a glue-like substance in the walls of plants), it can be made into pulp with less chemicals, energy and heat than trees. Though kenaf does flower, it is harvested for its fibrous stalk, which is hardy and requires low or no chemical application to grow. For farmers, who experience how common crop surpluses drive down prices, kenaf offers a viable rotation crop. Hello! Not much is sounding "alternative" about this paper source.
This bountiful beauty grows fast, rising to heights of 12 - 14 feet in as little as 4 - 5 months. At yields of 6 - 10 tons of dry fiber per acre per year, kenaf produces 3 - 5 times the amount of Southern pine trees (an industry yardstick), which take from 7 - 40 years to reach harvestable size.
So how does it hold up? Many papers billed as tree-free (banana, coffee, etc.) are actually 90 - 95 percent recycled wood fiber content. Their combination of materials is too fragile to stand up to industrial applications, such as publishing or office printing. Kenaf is sturdy enough to hold up to industrial use, either on its own or combined with recycled materials. We have decades of wood paper to recycle, and blends keep post-consumer waste in the recycling loop.
As a country, we've been slow to pursue tree-free options. Japan's lack of tree lands and timber harvesting equipment fuels its search for alternative sources of fiber. According to the Japan Kenaf Society (JKS), over half of the paper companies in Japan use kenaf in at least some of their products.
It's still a subsidy thing. Yes, kenaf products do cost more; producers compete with the logging industry, whose subsidies keep the price of wood pulp products artificially low. (Ah, taxes, the invisible form of payment.) But as kenaf production grows, these producers are beginning to experience the economies of scale needed to lower pricing.
How can we use it? I've been using kenaf, both pure and blended, for about five years. I was thrilled to try it out as a paper source for The Polishing Stone. The words you are reading are printed on a blend of 30 percent kenaf and post-consumer-waste paper, produced by Vision Paper out of Albuquerque, NM. We use their kenaf office paper and kenaf blend envelopes as well.
What would it take to turn the paper tide? One manufacturer, one publisher, one printer, one small business owner, one consumer. It begins with one person trying an alternative and builds with just that one additional person reaching for the product. Try a ream of kenaf copy paper or a box of envelopes. If you like it, order a carton, or encourage your local paper distributor to stock it for you. Check out makers of kenaf stationery supplies and gift cards.
Tree-free can be...
Vision Paper, 505-294-0293 or www.visionpaper.com.
American Kenaf Society (AKS) at www.kenafsociety.org.
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