Most people know that hemp can be a tree alternative for paper products.
But, most people probably don't know that the government has explored nearly 500 alternatives to trees.
Representatives from one local business said that kenaf, the alternative they use, is the best on the market for saving trees.
Thomas Rymsza, president of Vision Paper, an Albuquerque-based company, said that he happened to see a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, written in the 1950s, that surveyed 500 tree alternatives and its conclusion was that kenaf was the most viable of all.
It was that report which inspired him to start the local company in 1992.
"It's the most intelligent replacement for trees," said Brandon Davis, head of Sales and Marketing at Vision Paper. "Most people just close their eyes and don't realize the alternative is there."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Kenaf is a fiber crop similar to hemp grown by crop farmers -- it is planted in the spring and harvested in the summer.
The difference between hemp, the most commonly know alternative to trees, and kenaf is that kenaf fibers are almost identical to tree fibers, making it better than hemp fibers which are better for clothing and textiles.
Kenaf can also mix easily with tree fibers to increase a product's ability to be recycled.
It is grown across the United States, although most of crops are grown in the Southeast. A small amount is grown in New Mexico, Davis said.
Vision Paper doesn't grow its own kenaf, but it plays an important role in its local production process.
"We coordinate the process," Davis said. "From selling the seed to the farmer to getting it pulped and prepared."
Although the company wouldn't be considered large by most company standards, it has managed to secure accounts with such large name companies as Disney, Motorola and Texas Instruments, Davis said. The University of Virginia, Warren Wilson College and Vermont Law School also use Vision paper, he said.
Some of the products Vision Paper makes for those companies include applications, folders, envelopes and business reports.
"We can make anything," Davis said. "But we don't produce newsprint because most companies are looking for a public relations value."
Sales are increasing and company officials are getting ready to start their own pulp mill, Davis said. He added that he thinks that using kenaf instead of trees for paper will one day become mainstream.
"We're relying on trees for nearly all the paper in the U.S.," he said. "With support now with companies and universities, it will happen sooner or later."
Davis added that he would love if UNM was a client, but said that the company has not pursued a contract with the University.
The Department of Agriculture is not the only portion of the federal government that has recognized the positive qualities of kenaf.
In December 2001, Dana Arnold, head of the White House task force on recycling, listed kenaf as the prime example of "environmentally preferable" and "bio-based" roducts.
"As people start learning more about it, people realize it's the most environmentally positive product," Davis said.
