Our Paper Yarn models

Using paper as a raw material for yarn production has many advantages. First of all, paper is a renewable and environmentally friendly material made from cellulose. Also, the demand for paper is currently on the decline as many people now read newspapers, pay bills, etc. via Internet ; this change in behavior has created overcapacity in the pulp and paper industry, prompting the search for new business opportunities. The paper thread could help solve this problem.

The paper yarn comes from Manila hemp plants that are grown for the production of paper yarn in Ecuador, harvested and shipped to Japan, where the paper is made. A Manila hemp plant reaches the appropriate level of maturity in about 3 years; it is then 5-6 m high and can be 20-40 cm wide. After the plant has been felled and the leaves removed from the stem, the latter is torn into sheaths and moved to be dried. This produces a paper that can be transformed into yarn, which can then be made into a textile fabric. The fiber contains lignin, which holds the cellulose fibers together, while the surface is covered with flat cells; this is the characteristic of Manila hemp. Three beneficial characteristics of this type of hemp are its resistance, its extensibility and its impermeability. The production of paper with suitable characteristics for the yarn is difficult if not impossible with short fibers. The process of making paper yarn is the same as that of paper; the difference is in the handling when creating the wire. The sheets of paper are first cut into narrow strips, which are then twisted into yarn.

The paper yarn produced in this way is an environmentally friendly alternative to cotton and petroleum-based synthetic fibers. No hazardous substances are emitted during the manufacturing process and the paper yarn can be biologically recycled in an environmentally friendly cycle. Further research and development in the pulp and paper industry may eventually enable the production of paper yarn from raw materials from forests in northern Europe, the United States and Japan.