Fiber crops
Fiber crops are field crops grown for fiber production, either for paper or fabric. These have the advantage of a quick turnaround time, less total environmental damage in harvesting, and less contribution to greenhouse gases. Field crops for fiber are generally of the same, or more often, higher quality than wood pulp. They often have very long fibers and require less chemical processing, less energy for processing, and less bleaching than wood pulp.
Some fiber crops are bast fibers. These are made from the phloem tissue of the plant. Others are seed padding, leaf fiber, or other parts.
One item of note is that American paper money is made not of wood pulp, but of field crop fiber -- linen and cotton.
Fiber crops include:
