{"id":438,"date":"2020-07-29T15:32:26","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T15:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8009\/stories\/?p=438"},"modified":"2026-01-29T18:43:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T18:43:45","slug":"why-trees-are-irreplaceable-in-the-paper-products-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forestrycareers.com\/stories\/why-trees-are-irreplaceable-in-the-paper-products-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Trees are Irreplaceable\u00a0in the Paper Products Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Commercial forests are critical to the paper products industry, and likewise paper products play an important role in keeping the forestry industry strong. We explain why trees are used for many paper products rather than strictly recycled paper or hemp, and how the industry keeps up with the demand.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Have you ever thought about the trees it took to make the toilet paper, paper products and cardboard you use every day? The average couple goes through an entire tree every year just in toilet paper!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paper products like toilet paper play an important role in keeping private forest owners\u2014who plant 2.5 billion trees<\/a> a year\u2014going strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For every tree a sustainable forestry company like Rayonier cuts down, multiple trees are planted in its place within a year. This video shows a recent tree planting season<\/a>. So the more you use forest products, the stronger the whole ecosystem that supplies the industry will be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we need trees for toilet paper?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toilet paper has to be very strong so it won\u2019t fall apart when it\u2019s used. But it also has to be soft to ensure comfort. That\u2019s why a mix of trees are used to make it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The long, strong fibers of softwood trees like Southern yellow pines and Douglas-firs are used to make toilet paper strong. The shorter fibers of hardwood trees like oaks and maples give toilet paper its soft texture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Why
Toilet paper gets its softness from virgin pine pulp. You can check the labeling to ensure it was sustainably sourced.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why not make toilet paper with recycled paper?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Recycled paper loses its strength and softness through the process of being used and recycled. It is not ideal to be used on its own for toilet paper, explains John Considine, a Materials Research Engineer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Forest Products Laboratory<\/a>. Instead, \u201cvirgin\u201d wood is preferred to give toilet paper the soft, plush qualities we expect. (Virgin wood refers to any freshly-cut tree as opposed to wood materials that have been used and re-used).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce a fiber is dried, it\u2019s irreversibly changed,\u201d Considine explains. \u201cThe more times it\u2019s dried [to make a product] the shorter the fiber becomes, making it less and less soft and less and less absorbent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we need trees for cardboard?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the same reason, virgin wood has to be used for the strong outside layers of corrugated cardboard packaging. The inside layers can be made from less-sturdy, recycled cardboard. But the rigidity of the outside requires pulp from wood that hasn\u2019t been used before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just how important is cardboard? It\u2019s a critical tool used all over the world. Considine says an incredible 90 percent of all the world\u2019s manufactured goods are delivered in corrugated cardboard packaging, a product made from trees.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cardboard
Corrugated cardboard boxes like these moving boxes are strengthened with fresh tree pulp. Recycled pulp fibers are not strong enough for the rigid outer layer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Just think about the packaging your food, medicine and toiletries come in. Think of all those Amazon boxes delivered to your door, and the boxed items you buy in the store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are paper products made on a mass scale? It starts with trees, which are made into wood chips and then processed into a material called pulp. Then the pulp is transformed into all kinds of products, as shown in this video by the Idaho Forest Products Commission that takes you behind the scenes in a paperboard mill:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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