What it's used for
All that info is perhaps of some relevance, but things really become interesting when we look at what the pulp all those trees have been grown to produce is used for. Indeed, you may find along most supermarket aisles one or more products using DWP. Included in this line-up would be yoghurt, toothpaste, wet-wipes, washing powder, ice cream, clothing and other apparel and a range of other items, including, weirdly, the screens on computers and cell phones, run-flat tyres and a whole spectrum of other seemingly unrelated consumer products. The following info-graphic shows many of those uses as well as the sources of pulp in question.
otherwise known as rayon when spun, is one of the main intermediate products that can be produced from
DWP. Rayon is a soft fabric, which has a wide range of
applications, including making fibre garments produced from synthetic fibres, such as polyester, much more wearable by making them softer and more breathable on the skin. Although you may not usually use such synthetic fibres by preference, you are almost certain to own clothing which includes them. As such, it is probably useful to realise that currently, man-made fibres of this kind contribute over 60% of the annual 83m ton global
demand for fibres (see graphic below). While on the subject of fibres, one can see cotton is
SSC = Sappi Specialised Cellulose. S = Saiccor Mill, N = Ngodwana Mill and C = Cloquet Mill
the next biggest contributor to annual fibre demand, which is problematic. Many of us love the feel of cotton, and its look – until it becomes creased, of course. And it certainly is less allergenic than most man-made fibres. But cotton consumes a lot of arable land, is highly intensive in its water usage, and requires a lot of insecticide, herbicides and fertiliser to be commercially viable. For these reasons, many in the industry, including Sappi, believe that global cotton production has probably already peaked. So, even if you are choosing an organically-produced cotton over other cotton options, you are not really helping the planet as a whole in respect to the relative contribution of each fibre type currently making the grade as commercial end products. Of course, there is a solution to the growing global demand for cheap and effective garments and clothing, which is not even under discussion here because up till now there is virtually nowhere in the world where this particular product has been grown. The product is hemp, also a source of fibres for paper and pulp, but widely banned from commercial production because of its more controversial cousin, cannabis. Actually, hemp
In order for so many varied products to be made from a single (more or less) natural fibre source, there should, logically, be numerous products derived from the primary source before being used in end-product manufacture of consumer products. This is, in fact, the case. The following graphic shows many of these intermediate products made from DWP. As can be seen at a glance from this graphic, viscose,
VSF (Viscose) 60%
ODYSSEY?47
•?
DIGIMAG