Non-wood fibers, or other agricultural residues, used in paper-making include flax, kenaf, hemp, bamboo, rye, wheat straw and fiber from sugar cane (bagasse).

Alternative fibers and agricultural residues have some advantages for paper-making:

• The demand for wood fibers from unsustainable sources is reduced, as is the pressure on forests for fiber production.
• Rural economies and employment can benefit. In India and China, in particular, non-wood fibers play an important role in some rural economies.

However, alternative fibers have failed to attract a strong interest from major industrial paper makers for several reasons:

• Poor availability and logistical difficulties – certain alternative fibers are not available throughout the year and storage capacity would be needed to feed mills year-round; production of alternative fibers may involve a large number of suppliers.
• Scale, supply and markets – the supply system and customer base for wood fiber are well established, whereas a supply system for alternative fibers would have to be designed and constructed, and offers less predictability and control.
• The need for intensive management – non-wood fibers would have to be grown as intensively-managed crops on large areas in order to sustain a large-scale manufacturing operation. The environmental side effects of this may be greater than those of SFM.
• Technical properties – some alternative fibers may not meet the performance requirements for certain products (e.g., rice straw for making newsprint). There are still some processing problems due to high silica content in some alternative fibers (e.g., straw).

Some key questions to consider when requesting paper made from alternative fibers:

1. Does it remove incentives to keep the landscape forested?
2. Do the environmental advantages persist when the production expands to the necessary scale, or does it result in more negative environmental impacts? (consider water use, chemical inputs, energy requirements, climate effects, etc).
3. What is the risk that forest land will be converted to agriculture?
4. What effects, both positive and negative, would this have on local communities and indigenous peoples?