Deforestation is a word all of us have heard so often that it ceases to mean much anymore.

That’s sad because if there were an honest review of the problems we should care about, deforestation would be among the top three.

It’s so significant because of the damage it has already started causing.

To understand the scale, wrap your head around the fact that The Netherlands is practically getting wiped off the map because of deforestation.

This statement may sound like a dystopian future, but, in reality, it is our present.

Every year, about 10 million hectares of forests in the world are destroyed. The paper industry alone contributes to the loss of 14% (i.e., 4.1 million hectares) of it.

That is roughly the size of The Netherlands!

In the last three decades, forest lands of about one billion acres have been lost.

That is concerning. But is the solution to stop using products made out of wood or wood pulp?

It’s not practical or instant.

Even in this digital era, not a day goes by without us interacting with either paper or products made from wood pulp.

So, the question should be: ‘how can we solve deforestation without giving up on the convenience of the life we’ve grown used to?’

Yes, there is a solution that can combat deforestation and replace wood pulp in the paper industry in an eco-friendly way - Hemp.

Here are 7 ways in which hemp helps combat deforestation:

1. Hemp can grow where other plants won’t

If you’ve found yourself here, you likely already know that hemp cultivation is great for the environment. But here’s something you might not know—hemp plants can grow even in soil contaminated with toxins and heavy metals.

How do we know?

We don’t make claims lightly. When we say that hemp can grow on barren land, it means we’ve seen farmers do it, and we’ve used their help and knowledge to industrialize this farming. Our farm workers have cultivated over four lakh hemp plants successfully.

But hemp’s ability to reclaim barren and polluted lands isn’t the only thing that fascinates us. Studies even suggest it can absorb harmful substances like lead and cadmium.

With its remarkable properties, hemp is a powerful ally for our planet.

But how does hemp do that?

Through its deep root system. The deep roots allow the hemp crop to:

go deeper in the soil to absorb water and nutrients
absorb concentrated metals that are below detection in the soil and
thrive effortlessly in places where many plants struggle to grow.

This proves that hemp is resilient as it is versatile.

2. Hemp plants are low-maintenance

Hemp doesn’t ask for much.

Why are we saying so?

A) Hemp can grow in barren lands. So it doesn’t require nutrient-rich soil for cultivation.

B) Hemp cultivation doesn’t need any chemical pesticides. It is naturally resistant to diseases and pests. This not only lowers the cultivation costs but also reduces soil and water pollution. It also makes hemp farming an eco-friendly option for farmers who can’t afford expensive pesticides.

C) It saves water. How? We read about hemp’s deep root system above. This system helps it access water from the soil that other crops often can’t. So, farmers don’t have to irrigate it frequently. Moreover, the crop can survive and thrive in dry climates. It doesn’t just save water during cultivation; it also saves water when turning it into final products. Hemp fibers consume much less water than other fibers. For example, hemp requires about 3.5 kg of water per kg, while cotton requires about 10 kg of water.

3. Hemp makes the soil fertile for the future

There are many ways in which hemp helps enrich soil. Firstly, hemp grows in polluted soil and converts it into an enriched one.

We have already read about its capability to absorb heavy metal and chemical pollutants from the soil. But what you may not know is that this property eventually improves the presence of nutrients in the soil. It enriches soil by increasing the amount of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, which are essential for a plant’s growth. This turns the lands from barren to fertile.

Secondly, it has dense foliage, and it grows tall. Because of this, it acts as a natural canopy and checks soil runoff or erosion during heavy rainfall. This reduces water wastage and also retains moisture in the soil, making it rich for cultivation.

Other than that, here are some more ways in which hemp improves soil health:

It retains water and increases moisture in the soil.
It suppresses weak growth and helps save nutrients.
It supports microbes that help in plant growth.
It reduces soil runoff or erosion during heavy rainfall.

4. Hemp absorbs carbon to reduce the effects of deforestation

Hemp is a great contributor to carbon sequestration. In simple terms, it absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2) and reduces carbon from the atmosphere. This, in turn, slows down the global climate change.

Impressive, right?

Well, here’s more.

Hemp can sequester 9-15 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare in a year. That is significantly higher than any other commercial crop. In fact, cotton emits 2-4 tons per hectare. And since the plant's lifecycle allows this crop to grow in just 3-4 months, we manage to double the magic of this carbon sink every year.

So, hemp doesn’t only work as raw material to produce sustainable products but also reduces greenhouse gases from the environment. That makes hemp an effective wood alternative to combat deforestation.

5. Hemp is a natural ally for reforestation

Let’s talk about paper. More precisely, hemp paper vs regular paper.

Now, earlier, we already established the wood-pulp-based paper industry’s contribution to deforestation. What we haven’t discussed is the indirect reforestation properties of hemp paper.

Let us break it down for you.

Regular paper is made through wood pulp, which comes from cellulose. Wood contains about 40% cellulose and takes years to grow. Now, hemp, on the other hand, takes only about 4-5 months to grow and contains around 70% cellulose.

In short, hemp can produce four times more pulp than mature wood in an industrial setting without wiping off forests.

Now, let’s look at how hemp fabric combats deforestation when used as an alternative to synthetic or other natural fabrics.
Where hemp enriches the soil it grows in, crops like flax deplete it.

Flax takes away the nutrients in the soil and can also cause diseases. You can’t even grow flax in the same field more than once every six years. In many cases, you would have to leave the land as is so the soil can be replenished before you grow some other crop.

Hemp, on the other hand, is a completely different story. It can:

grow twice a year,
in the same field,
and makes the soil rich in nitrogen, potassium, and calcium.

6. Hemp’s versatility reduces pressure on forests

Did you know that you can make more than 25,000 different products from hemp?

It is sustainable, fast, and abundant.

You can produce almost 250% more hemp fiber per acre than cotton. Similarly, one acre of hemp produces the same amount of paper as four acres of trees. Imagine how much this crop can contribute to checking deforestation.

Another one of our popular hemp products is hemp plastic. It is more stable than other bioplastics out there, almost at par with regular plastic. It is also biodegraded completely and makes the soil rich for the next crop.

7. Hemp products decompose quickly

Hemp products, be it clothes or plastic, are completely biodegradable, a property that we and our forests desperately need.

It takes about three to six months to completely break down and return to the earth to enrich soil.

Now, allow us to compare this to the time other materials take to decompose:

Synthetic fibers like polyester and acrylic can take up to 200 years. Some fibers, like Nylon, aren’t even biodegradable and can remain in the environment for several hundred years.
Regular plastic takes up to 500 years or more to decompose.

These numbers make hemp sound like the ultimate solution to so many pollution-related problems, and rightly so.

What’s even more impressive about hemp is its recycling properties. Where wood pulp paper can be recycled 3-5 times, you can recycle hemp paper about 7-8 times. Since it also requires fewer chemicals during its production, it makes a healthier compost than heavily bleached paper.

Let’s say NO to a future without forests

Every second, the forests are changing for the worse and with horrifying consequences. But hemp has come out as the game-changing solution.

It isn’t just a sustainable crop. It’s our answer to bringing the change that the Earth desperately needs. This renewable resource offers fast alternatives to the materials that are harming our forests and our planet.

At Hemp Foundation, we are leading the way in hemp farming in India and are already seeing a positive impact.

So, the next time you stumble upon a random and worrying fact about the hurt caused by deforestation, know that we’re constantly working on changing that. If you want to know more about us or want to join us on the mission, connect with our team today.