If you still think hemp paper is a novelty, listen to a paper maker who has already reverse‑engineered the future. On this iHemp Hour, Tiny e Paper founder Erica Halverson walked us through real prototypes, real purchase orders, and a deceptively simple claim: anything tree paper can do, hemp can do better—and often with less material, less weight, and smarter logistics.

Corrugated packaging is everywhere—from six‑bottle wine carriers to e‑commerce boxes—and it’s resource‑intensive. Traditional corrugate uses three sheets of tree paper glued together. Halverson showed a like‑for‑like carrier made from a single ply of thicker hemp paper. Same job, fewer inputs. That shift ripples through the P&L: less fiber, less glue, lighter weight, lower freight, and fewer steps in manufacturing.

• Logistics advantage: lighter packages mean cheaper shipping and lower emissions.
• Material efficiency: one‑ply hemp can replace three‑ply corrugate in select applications without sacrificing strength.
• Customization: unlike one‑size‑fits‑all tree paper, hemp paper can be ordered smooth or with visible grain, matched to brand feel or consumer expectations.

The R&D is past the napkin stage. Tiny e Paper’s samples are gluing, folding, perforating, and weight‑bearing like the real world demands—envelopes, record sleeves, child‑resistant cartons, tissue boxes, labels, and more. That matters to Michigan brands, retailers, and manufacturers who want sustainable packaging they can run on existing equipment.

Halverson’s next move is the smartest one for U.S. hemp: bring processing in‑house. Every time raw stalk moves from farm to decoritcator to cleaner to pulper, cost and delay stack up. A domestic processing hub turns that friction into a flywheel:

• Buy direct from farmers at scale (yes, CBD stalk works; it all gets chopped and beaten to spec).
• Produce clean short bast fiber and a controlled amount of hurd for paper, while selling surplus hurd into bedding and building materials.
• Feed U.S. converters fast, with fewer touchpoints and lower freight than imports.

She’s also exploring sovereign‑land partnerships with Indigenous nations to create good jobs, reliable acreage, and shared prosperity—a model Michigan tribes and processors can adapt.

Michigan sits at the intersection of packaging, plastics, and automotive interiors. Our manufacturers already value repeatability, lighter weight, and supply‑chain resilience. Hemp paper checks all three—while opening doors to replace select plastics and heavy glass with fiber‑based formats over time.

• For provisioning centers and wellness brands: swap plastic pre‑roll tubes and thick jars for engineered paper formats.
• For beverage and CPG: test one‑ply hemp carriers, wraps, and shipper components to reduce corrugate and freight.
• For printers and converters: win sustainability‑driven business with custom‑finished hemp sheets your customers can feel good about.

• If you grow or process fiber: talk specs. Short bast fiber and controlled hurd ratios are the inputs paper mills actually need.
• If you manufacture packaging: pilot a single SKU in hemp paper and measure weight, cost‑in‑use, and consumer response.
• If you invest in Michigan supply chains: processing capacity is the unlock. Let’s build it here.

Join iHemp Michigan to connect with buyers, processors, and innovators turning Michigan’s hemp into real products. Business members get listed in our directory—thousands of searches each month—and featured across our channels.

Ready to move a SKU to hemp paper? Reach out at info@ihempmichigan.com and we’ll make introductions.