Some alternative fiber papers in use today for paper and paper bags include abaca, agri-pulp (field and crop leftovers from wheat straw to sunflower stalks), algea, bagasse, bamboo, banana fiber, bullrush, cotton, dung (animal pulped vegetation fibers), flax, hemp, kenaf, papyrus, rags, mulberry, washi, and more.

Paper or Plastic? NEITHER!

By Wendy Jedlicka

For those of you who went to the recent IoPP-sponsored Packaging Summit in Chicago this May, the goodie bag you got as you walked in the door was not just another conference take-away, but a breath of fresh air. Made from wild grass and abaca (a tuber, with fibers used from the whole plant but mostly the stalk), the bag created by Distant Village Packaging, treated conference-goers to a tangible example of...possibility and creative thinking!

"Things are just exploding for us right now" notes Rich Cohen of Distant Village Packaging in a recent interview for an upcoming Package Design case study. "Seven years ago I was just this guy trying to sell products with attention to great design, but created in a way that would let me sleep at night. Now, I'm getting flown all over the place to give talks about how we do what we do. And not just to fringe granolas, but to big companies eager to explore new creative options."

How we got here

Today, companies in the West are waking up to substrates and resources the East never forgot. Driven long ago by a need to use a variety of resource options due to centuries of demand on resources, it is small wonder "new" ideas are coming from some of the world's oldest civilizations. So what happened to us in the West?

We haven't always relied so heavily on wood. In fact wood pulp for paper and board as we use it today is a relatively new material. Wood pulp did not really make much of an impact until pulping processes changed in the early 20th century, when it became it profitable to use trees. Before then, our country enjoyed a diverse resource selection for making paper. It was quite normal to use paper made of annual crops like cotton and flax, quick-growing traditional fiber crops like hemp (and kenaf), and even field waste (agri-pulp).

The bigger questions, though, are: Why have we in the West continued to confine our choices to only one slow-growing resource when all indicators have been pointing to pulp shortfalls? Does the consumer really care what the box is made of as long as they can feel GOOD about their choice?

Where we are going

An RPA-100% national survey of more than 200 primary shoppers confirmed that preference and demand for 100% recycled paperboard products had reached an extremely high level. Ninety-two percent believed they were doing something for the environment when they buy it, 84% feel better about companies that use it as packaging material, and 73% are more inclined to buy products from companies that use it.

With such high consumer support for forest-free (100% recycled) packaging, the opportunities are ripe for companies looking to integrate the positive consumer perception advantages found in tree-free products. Noting that no trees were used at all in a package is a simple idea the consumer can easily get their arms around.

This is a time of transition as markets are going past just "green," consumers and companies are looking at the whole of how a product is made (sustainability), and products and packages are issued with varied and confusing eco-marketing claims. During this transition, firms that find simple ways of connecting with the consumer are best positioned to profit the most.

By thinking past just getting your widget to the store, you could help eco-foresters by making the commitment to use only sustainably harvested wood, developing communities by buying traditional fiber products, or supporting your area farmers by using paper made from annual crops or agri-pulp. But moreover, you can tap into new ways of increasing your market share by realizing money doesn't JUST grow on trees.