I’ve always loved Woody Harrelson as an actor but I recently discovered he’s a vegan and an environmental activist too, can this guy get any better?

Of course we all know of his roles in the hit comedy Cheers, and various movies like Zombieland (a personal fave) and Natural Born Killers, but he has also been playing the role of environmental activist for years.

According to Wikipedia, he once scaled the Golden Gate Bridge in protest of cutting down California’s redwood trees.

He was part of a documentary by, The Spitfire Agency, called Go Further in which he traveled to the West Coast using a hemp-oil-fueled bus.

And, in October 2009 he was granted an honorary degree by York University for his contributions in environmental education, sustainability and activism.

It’s really no surprise that he decided to take his love for the environment one step further in creating Step Forward Paper.

This paper is made from 80% wheat straw waste, meaning that it’s not only tree-free, but the wheat used is actually agricultural waste that would otherwise have to be disposed of.

The other 20% comes from Forest Stewardship Council certified wood fiber, and is bleached using an elemental chlorine-free sequence.

In an interview with mother nature network Harrelson states,

“50 percent of the trees that are cut down go to making paper. Worldwide we consume over 400 million metric tonnes of paper each year and that equates to over 3 billion trees harvested annually.”

When asked what sort of impact his paper might have on our nations tree consumption he said this:

“The stats are these: you get two boxes of this Step Forward wheat-straw paper and that saves one tree. So you can imagine, if everybody starts using non-wood paper, you are saving an enormous amount of forests.”

To date, 11,747 trees have been saved by using his wheat-based paper, and it has been called “the most environmentally sustainable paper currently available in North America,” as stated in findings by the Life Cycle Study.

Here’s to saving our forest’s one tree at a time, thank you Woody Harrelson.

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Editor: Rachel Nussbaum

Photo Credit: Kevin Dooley/Flickr Creative Commons