It is shown that for new applications of hemp as a paper making fibre source, new pulp technology is required. This article is the first in a series about hemp pulping and paper making. This paper and similar bits of paper surviving from the next century are thick, coarse, and uneven in their texture. They are all made of pounded and disintegrated hemp fibres. Until the early 19th century, the only raw material available for paper making was rags.
Rags are worn-out clothes.
With the industrial revolution, the need for paper began to exceed the available rag supply. The recent renewed interest in hemp as a paper-making fibre seems to originate from a strong environmental motive. All primary forests in Europe, and most in North America have been destroyed, amongst others for paper production. Now we accuse the nations which still have primary forests of not guarding theirs. This of course is a little different in the Americas and in Asia and Australia, where primary forests are cleared at a huge environmental cost.