Using plants that grow quicker and use less water seems like a better business decision to me.
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Ok, I’m going to shed some light on this from a manufacturing perspective. I worked for 4.5 years in a paper manufacturing adjacent company that supplied some additives to them.
First, let’s talk about history of paper. It’s been around for a very, very long time as far as industrial manufacturing goes. In the US, most paper mills are very old and have been in existence for 100+ years. The paper industry is reluctant to change due to ingrained practices and limitations for older equipment.
It’s hard to imagine just how big paper machines are- think of a football field covered in a mesh that transports paper moving at about 1000-3000 feet per minute. I felt like a bug standing next to one.
Those differences alone would be difficult, but not as difficult to overcome as the next issue.
The real issue with using alternative sources of cellulose (like bamboo or hemp) is that the fibers act very differently from tree wood derived cellulose. There are SO many properties of wood fibers that affect the final product. And all of them have been developed using wood fibers. For example, softwood fibers (like pine) are much longer than hardwood fibers. They also refine (basically open up and become more like velcro) differently than hardwood fibers. A good paper will use a set ratio of hardwood and softwood fibers. From what I heard and read, hemp and bamboo both create much, much longer fibers after refining than wood. This affects the finished product manufacturing and goes back to the first point where it is difficult to make those changes. There are other chemical effects but I’ll leave it here for it to be ELI5.
Lastly, hemp and bamboo are not yet cultivated to the same degree as trees. In the US, there is a robust forestry system (same in places like Sweden which produce a bunch of paper). There are a lot of tree farms. Plus, there has been a push in the industry to move away from slower growing hardwoods and move more into softwoods. Good for the environment, but has definitely caused some negative impacts in consumer goods quality that require creative solutions to solve.
We also have to consider how the fast growing plants like hemp and bamboo affect the land quality over time.
I think we are still headed in the direction of alternative sources (a very good thing!) but it won’t happen overnight. I personally hope that hemp becomes a major source in the future.
TL;DR: it’s not as easy as being a drop in replacement. You’ve got old equipment that was developed for a specific raw material, and industry that has 100+ years with that raw material, and certain expectations from consumers for product quality and properties. But it is slowly changing.
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