Woody Harrelson is no stranger to living an environmentally conscious life. In line with his activism regarding deforestation, the actor has co-founded a paper company called Step Forward Paper, creating products made of 80% wheat straw waste. It is the first of its kind to be offered in North America.
“Of all the trees cut down in the world, anywhere from three to six billion a year, half of those are used to make paper,†he said in an interview with TriplePundit. “So to redefine the way that paper is made would be a really important paradigm shift …. We now have a paper, made from 80 percent wheat straw that is better ecologically than any other paper out there. And it’s now going to be available for the first time in the United States through Staples.â€
With the global demand for paper at 400 million metric tons a year and expected to double in the next 15 years, his goal is to develop the first non-wood pulp paper mill in North America within the next five years. The off-the-grid mill will rely solely on agricultural waste and the product will cost less than or equal to regular office paper.
The paper is currently manufactured by producers in India until a mill can be made locally. The goal is to not only make it all in North America, but to go from 80% tree free to 100% tree free paper products. The company has already created a 100% tree-free product, but more research and development is needed before it can become a regular part of the line.
I’d love to see more offices switch to a product like this, especially after working in an accounting department and seeing how much paper is used every day. I’d also love to see the company create a tree-free photo paper, but I’ll take what I can get for now.
Would you try out a paper like this? Do you think it has the potential to revolutionize our paper manufacturing industry?
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