Writers from all over the world, including Günter Grass (Nobel Prize winner 1999), JK Rowling (Harry Potter) and Chilean Isabel Allende, are actively committed to recycling by putting pressure on publishers to print their books on recycled paper.
It is estimated that the sale of the book “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” by English writer JK Rowling on 100% recycled paper in Canada alone prevented the felling of almost 40,000 trees. Today, nearly 250 writers have joined the project.
It is estimated that the sale of the book “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” by English writer JK Rowling on 100% recycled paper in Canada alone prevented the felling of almost 40,000 trees. Today, nearly 250 writers have joined the project.
This project, called “Forest-Friendly Books,” was started by Greenpeace in 2004 and is making great progress. According to Greenpeace, the proposal hopes to get the publishing industry to assume its environmental responsibility by rejecting practices that encourage the destruction of primary forests and supporting the purchase of environmentally responsible paper.
"Although paper is a natural and recyclable product, it often comes from wood from forests, and in many parts of the world forests are being destroyed to produce paper," said Miguel Ángel Soto, head of Greenpeace's Forest Campaign.
Among the international authors who have joined the initiative are Günter Grass, JK Rowling, Charlotte Bingham, Margaret Atwood, Alice Walker, Niccolo Ammaniti, Andrea de Carlo, Isabel Allende, Manuel Rivas, Javier Cercas, Fernando Sánchez Dragó, Javier Moro, Álvaro Pombo, Espido Freire, Soledad Puértolas and Joaquín Araujo; as well as some works by the late José Saramago and Miguel Delibes.
Of particular relevance is the fact that it is the authors who should put pressure on publishers to achieve these ecological achievements, since for years the publishing industry, based on the high costs involved in introducing a new production model, was reluctant to introduce these environmental improvements.
One of the first books linked to this project was “El bosque de los Pigmeos” (The Forest of the Pigmes), written in 2004 by Isabel Allende, which gave the campaign a very good boost. Her publisher, Random House Mondadori, was later joined by other publishers such as Destino (Grupo Planeta), Blume, Trotta, Tusquets, Anagrama, Ediciones Xerais, Icaria Editorial, and RBA Ediciones. It seems that little by little the industry is beginning to take notice of society's demand for ecological products. According to Miguel Ángel Soto, head of the project, “the publishing sector has to be the first interested party in ensuring the survival of the planet's forests.”
Some of the results of this campaign are really encouraging. According to Greenpeace, in 2004 (the first year of the campaign) more than 4.5 million books were published on recycled paper.
In 2008, the use of this recycled paper for books prevented the felling of almost 2,000 trees, the equivalent of four football fields, according to the literature website Papelenblanco.
And just by selling English writer JK Rowling's book "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in Canada, printed on 100% recycled paper, almost 40,000 trees were cut down, more than 63 million litres of water were wasted and the equivalent amount of electricity consumed by an average household over 262 years was avoided.
In 2010, the Spanish paper industry imported more than one million tons of paper, the vast majority coming from Finland, Canada or Russia, countries where primary forests are being destroyed, according to Greenpeace. In fact, according to the Consumer Foundation, more than 80% of the world's primary forests have already been devastated. Therefore, initiatives that promote the use of recycled paper represent a great ecological advance.
SOURCES: Greenpeace, Consumer Foundation, The Fourth R
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