Hemp toilet paper is an environmentally-friendly alternative to normal toilet paper, as it has a lower adverse environmental impact. The benefit of hemp is vast and wide.
You already know that toilet paper is made from wood, but wouldn't it surprise you to know that the same toilet paper can be made from hemp plants at a cheaper cost, giving better quality? Hemp toilet paper is very soft and rich in fiber. These two features make it easily biodegradable.
Before we delve into where to find hemp toilet paper, let's take a look at what it means and the benefits of using it compared to regular toilet paper.
What is Hemp Toilet Paper?
Just as the name implies, hemp toilet paper is made from fibers extracted from hemp plants. The fibers in hemp plants are naturally softer than those in regular wood. This makes it so much easier for hemp tissue paper to be manufactured.
There's hardly any need for the fibers' chemical breakdown, which is typically the case when using regular wood.
Manufacturers of tissue papers usually use toxic chemicals to soften the hard fibers from trees to make them soft enough for pulp fit for making tissue papers.
In other words, hemp toilet paper is more environmentally-friendly than your regular tissue paper. This is because it is softer, and there's no need for toxic chemicals in the manufacturing process.
Toilet papers made from wood are practical, but those made from hemp plant extract are softer in texture. Ideally, to make toilet paper, you'll first need to create pulp out of the fibrous wood material.
This process also applies if you're making hemp paper towels. The process might be easy and seamless; the fiber from wood is subjected to treatment with chemicals that make it soft.
With hemp plant material, this process is not as stressful since hemp fibers are naturally softer. In fact, it is one of the best alternatives for making quality toilet paper.
Again, hemp pulp has very little lignin — another factor that makes it so much less dependent on chemicals for preparation.
Did you know that hemp paper has been in existence for centuries before today? And until the end of the 20th century, hemp remained the source of 75% to 90% of worldwide paper consumption.
Where to Find Hemp Toilet Paper for Sale
The popularity of hemp toilet paper isn't as pronounced as that of regular toilet tissue. However, you can still find it in some local stores or supermarkets around you. But an excellent source of it is Alibaba.
In the United States, one of the significant reasons hemp toilet paper seems scarce is that the federal government is against the use of cannabis, especially for state laws.
Another reason is that most available hemp plants are used up in providing supplies for other hemp-derived products. Other places where you can buy hemp toilet paper are online stores.
What Are The Benefits of Using/Making Hemp Toilet Paper?
Wondering what the benefits of hemp paper really are? Here are the benefits of using hemp toilet paper over toilet tissue made from wood:
#1 Made from Naturally Softer Hemp Fibers
The inner part of hemp plant stems is naturally very soft, even softer than the outer coarse leaves. This is why fabrics made from hemp plants are usually so gentle on the skin.
So, hemp plants can serve as raw materials for making better toilet papers without the need for heavy processing chemicals.
#2 They are Tougher than Toilet Paper Made from Woods
Although they are very soft material, hemp tissue papers are tougher than your regular toilet paper. They absorb up to 5 times more moisture than toilet paper made from wood.
#3 Antibacterial
Hemp is a plant that contains a lot of biochemicals, which typically include terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids.
Some of these naturally-occurring substances are antibacterial, and because of that, when you wipe with hemp toilet paper, you'll get a cleaner wipe. This is particularly important for women who are so often more prone to picking up infections from toilets.
#4 They are Highly Biodegradable
Unlike regular toilet paper, which takes so long to disintegrate and join the rest of the soil, hemp toilet paper is very much easy to disintegrate and join the soil.
This is mainly because the plant is naturally soft, and it does not need the heavy chemicals for it to be processed into toilet paper.
#5 Renewable
Upon thorough observation, you can recycle hemp paper up to 7 times, whereas toilet paper made from wood can only be recycled 3 times.
It takes just 4 months for hemp harvests to be ready. This feature automatically makes hemp toilet paper a more economical and environmentally-friendly option.
#6 Much Less Need for Strong Processing Chemicals
The idea of making toilet tissue from hemp pulp paper is why the use of chemicals for processing is often unnecessary. And if they are to be included during processing, only a minimal amount of those would suffice.
#7 High Cellulose
Cellulose happens to be the most significant component when it comes to making pulp for toilet paper.
Since hemp has it abundantly, it is then perfect for making soft toilet paper. Hemp bast fibers contain up to 77% cellulose. Trees, on the other hand, only contain about 40% to 45% cellulose.
#8 Reduced Impact on the Environment
Over 250,000 trees are cut down every day for the production of wood for tissue papers.
Aside from that, animals are losing their natural habitats, then they are faced with the threat of extinction. Did you know that 1 acre of hemp can generate as much pulp for paper as more than 4 acres of large trees?
Conclusion
This article has elaborated on reasons why hemp should be the preferred option over conventional toilet paper made from wood.
Besides the benefits on humans, our environment also stands to benefit from it.
For instance, deforestation will decrease and the disappearing wildlife will stop too! Ideally, hemp toilet paper and other hemp products take up lots of demand. The demand is more than the supply.
However, with the introduction of the Farm Bill 2018, which removed hemp plants from the list of plants prohibited in the US, we can expect more materials for making hemp toilet paper and other products in the coming years.
