Green Books Campaign, Nov. 10

Design credit: Susan Newman 

Avid readers need to create the demand necessary to spur publishers to use "green" publication methods and materials.  Readers encourage publishers to reduce the sector's carbon footprint simply by purchasing books made from "green" materials and through environmentally friendly practices.

As part of this effort, 100 online book reviewers -- including Savvy Verse & Wit and Diary of an Eccentric -- and 35 publishers from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have come together for one day -- November 10, 2009 -- to celebrate "green" books at the behest of Eco-Libris.  The goal of the campaign is to encourage readers and publishers to ensure that books are printed responsibly and book purchases are "greener."

Only 0.23 percent of publishers are committed to increasing the number of books made on recycled paper, according to Eco-Libris. Moreover, only about 5 percent to 10 percent of paper used by book publishers is recycled.  Meanwhile, the Book Industry Environmental Council announced that it was committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the publishing industry by 20 percent or to a 2006 baseline by the year 2020, and an 80 percent reduction by 2050.

“Although there’s so much hype around e-books, books printed on paper dominate the book market, and we want them to be as environmentally sound as possible,” explains Raz Godelnik, co-founder and CEO of Eco-Libris. “Very few books are currently printed responsibly and we hope this initiative will bring more exposure to “green” books. Through this campaign we want to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.”

Julie Christopher, Senior Marketing Manager at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing -- one of the participating publishers-- says, "The mission of the Little Green Books series is to plant the seeds of earth-friendly living at an early age, and we were delighted to work with Eco-Libris on the campaign to help to spread this important message."

As environmental issues continue to make headlines and paper-based books remain the dominant form on the market, Eco-Libris and online book reviewers want to call attention to those books that are made from recylced materials and FSC-certified paper.  Books reviewed on Nov. 10, 2009, at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time by the online bloggers range from nonfiction and fiction to poetry and cookbooks.

For more information and a list of participating blogs, please visit the Web site for the Green Books Campaign.  See you on Nov. 10, 2009, at 1 p.m. EST.