Harry Potter and the Almost Recycled Doorstop
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03.21.07
When Harry Potter last hit the shelves Canadians got it printed on 100% recycled paper but according to Mike's post, "The American version, printed by Scholastic, it said to contain "some recycled paper", but the company won't say how much and it certainly is not 100%."
This time round, Scholastic has committed to "making sure 65 percent of the 16,700 tons of paper used is FSC-certified, which means the paper comes from forestlands that are managed in a socially and environmentally responsible way. Totaling nearly 22 million pounds, this is the largest purchase of FSC-certified paper to be used in a single book printing to date. Moreover, all the paper used in the printing will contain at least 30 percent post-consumer waste fiber, with much of that verified by FSC standards as well."
The Rainforest Alliance loves it: "This is a major milestone for environmental and social responsibility in the publishing industry"
Is it? We wonder why Scholastic cannot meet the standard set in Canada and the UK and go 100% recycled. And don't forget that the greenest book is the library book!
UPDATE: We learn from CNN that A "deluxe" edition of the new book, which has a first printing of 100,000, will be printed on paper that contains "100 percent post-consumer waste fiber." And that while I might be churlish, others are not: "It's great news that Ms. Rowling's American readers can enjoy the final installment of Harry Potter while playing a part in responsible forest management," said Greenpeace forest campaign coordinator Scott Paul. ::CNN
First off, Scholastic is printing far more copies here in the US than in either the UK or Canada.
Second, Scholastic has to make a profit in this printing, and from their perspective they are probably maximizing profit by creating a (more) environmentally friendly product than before while also retaining the use of presumably cheaper virgin, non-FSC materials for the remaining 35%.
Third, the UK and Canada are countries with a very different populace that is possibly much more environmentally aware than the Potter-purchasing masses here in the US (of which I am one).
So how about instead of criticizing the efforts of US industries to green their products we simply laud those efforts without qualification? Of course we all want 100% recycled, FSC-certified paper, but this constant criticism of progress amounts to biting the hand that feeds us.
Really, the "best" paper to use from an environmental perspective is FSC-Recycled (FSC certified and 100% post-consumer recycled, with the certification meaning that the material's recycled status has been independently verified). Second best would be to supplement the recycled material with FSC virgin fibre where 100% recycled isn't possible.
What I'm left wondering about here is if the 65% they're saying will be FSC certified includes the recycled content or not. Either way, this is a huge improvement for Scholastic.
lol
as america is the practically the leading country in the world it is sad that they can not match other countries' recycling paper standards or are not setting the example themselves.
anthony says theyve done a good job .. but the other countries have publishing comapines that are not as well known as schoolastic and they still manage to make a profit And print on recycled paper. Also, who isn't going to make a profit with the Harry Potter books any way?
So yes, it is a good step, but it should have been taken many many years ago.
(by the way,,, im australian) lol
Harry Potter consumed at least 22000000 trees since first publication.