13/07/2005 - Another Harry
Potter is about to hit the bookstores, another
magical year at Hogwarts is about to begin.
But who is really the bad guy this time? Some
of Harry Potter's publishers are working their
magic and printing their editions on ancient
forest friendly paper. But others are behaving
like the evil wizard Voldemort and destroying
muggle forests forever.
The English language edition of 'Harry Potter
and the Half-Blood Prince' hits the bookstores
on 16 July. The good guys are the Canadian
and German publishers for printing the book
on ancient forest friendly papers. Bloomsbury,
the UK publisher of Harry Potter, has also
made some good progress, and the Italian and
Israeli editions are also expected to join
the forces of good when the translations are
published in the autumn.
Canadian Publisher Raincoast Books has once
again set a positive trend for Harry Potter
publishers worldwide in helping to save ancient
forests. Raincoast are living up to their
commitment to print all their titles on ancient
forest friendly paper and have printed the
Canadian edition of Harry Potter on 100 percent
post-consumer recycled paper.
Muggles for ancient forests!
Print runs for Harry Potter are so huge that
this kind of effort really does make a difference.
The good news is, other publishers around
the world have met the standard set by Raincoast
in 2003, and are also publishing on Ancient
Forest Friendly paper.
The German edition published by Carlsen will
be printed on 40 percent post-consumer recycled
paper and 60 percent Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) certified virgin fibre. The UK edition,
published by Bloomsbury, is expected to be
printed on a 30 percent FSC certified paper
- a positive first step by the publishing
house. Publishers in Spain and the Netherlands
are still deciding which paper to use.
The publisher that should not be named
However, not all publishers are following
this trend. Less progressive Harry Potter
publishers like Scholastic in the USA have
not responded to the challenge, and in fact
ignored the 12,400 emails from customers who
asked it to print 'Harry Potter and the Half
Blood Prince' on ancient forest friendly paper.
It seems they haven't been using Professor
Trelawney's crystal ball enough.
"The US publisher Scholastic is one
of the largest Harry Potter publishers globally,"
said our resident book wizard Judy Rodrigues.
"If they had printed the book on 100
percent recycled paper, like Raincoast, its
10.8 million print run could have saved 217,475
mature trees."
Not only has Scholastic missed out on helping
to save ancient forests , it looks like they
might have missed out on financial savings
too, with the BBC and New York Times reporting
that some US Potter fans are thinking of buying
their editions from Canada.
Harry at a glance
So, how does your Harry Potter publisher
stack up?
We've made it easy to tell with the Hogwarts
Publishers Honour Roll.
5 lightning bolts - The publisher is truly
at Harry level and working for good. They
are printing 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince' on 100 percent ancient forest friendly
paper, and have even committed to printing
other books on this paper too.
4 lightning bolts - The publisher has made
good progress but isn't quite at Hermione
level yet. They have made some good progress
though and are printing 'Harry Potter and
the Half-Blood Prince' on at least partially
ancient-forest friendly paper.
3 lightning bolts - The publisher has made
commitments to printing on ancient forest
friendly paper. They are a bit like Ron Weasly
- good intentions, but still some way to go.
If the publisher has no lightning bolts,
they have made no effort and are a bit like
Malfoy - they might say they are using ancient
forest friendly paper, but have shown us no
evidence.
What can you do?
Join the muggles for Ancient Forests!
Have you pre-ordered Harry Potter?
If so, check what publisher your copy is
from. If it's not from a forest-friendly publisher,
you could:
1. Change your order and order a Canadian
edition - especially if you are in the US!
2. Submit feedback to where you ordered it
from, for example Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com,
that next time you'd prefer the book to be
printed on 100 percent ancient forest friendly
paper.
Haven't bought Harry Potter yet?
Consider buying a Canadian edition of the
book, printed by Raincoast books, which is
on 100 percent Ancient Forest Friendly paper.
