Here at bookhitch, we know our members are innovative. That’s why we asked some of our company clients to share with us what they are doing now and what’s in the works when it comes to being green.

Pruett Publishing
“The question of what a publisher can do to be more environmentally friendly is a little complicated. The obvious use of recycled paper in manufacturing of books is a good starting point. We use recycled paper on some but not all books. Without digging into my print orders I would say that 25% of the books we manufacture use a recycled stock. We also have recycling containers in our offices, our warehouse uses recycled materials as much as possible in shipping our books. To me the biggest issue that concerns me is the policy of accepting returns from my accounts. Publishers have sold books on a returnable basis for decades. This means if a book under performs for the wholesaler or retailer the overstock is sent back to the publisher. Margo Baldwin, the publisher at Chelsea Green has written on this in Publisher's Weekly and in her own newsletters.

We have offered a non-returnable discount to retailers for years, I take some pride in the fact that our returns are under 5%, what returns we get we sell on-line at half price. If a book has to be destroyed we recycle it instead of sending it to the landfill.” – Jim Pruett

Epicenter Press
“Epicenter Press, a regional trade publisher of nonfiction books about Alaska, is a member of the Green Press Initiative and prints the majority of its books on recycled paper with 100% post-consumer content.

We used recycled paper with 35% pcc in our officer copier and printers.

We use high-efficiency light bulbs.

Because we have a storefront office in Kenmore, Washington that gets a lot of direct sunshine early in the day during the spring, summer, and fall, we are able to keep our office warm from this solar heat without using our natural-gas heating source much of the time.” – Kent Sturgis

Ash Tree Publishing
“How does Ash Tree Publishing love the Earth?

We use recycled packing materials – boxes, fill, bags – for 90% of our orders.

We pushed for printers to stock recycled paper starting in 1995. We’ve been successful – our printer uses recycled, non-chlorine bleached paper as their ‘standard sheet.’ Your project will be printed on that unless you request otherwise. We are now members of the Green Press Initiative to further this.

We send out only one mailing a year to reduce use of trees and cut down on fuel.

We discard less than 1 small bag of ‘trash’ per month.

Our books teach people to care for the Earth.

We eat weeds – that’s about as local as food gets.

We keep our workspace at 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and wear extra sweaters.

We use every piece of paper at least twice, sometimes 3-4 times. We don’t use letterheads or waste any paper, ever. We aren’t going green. We ARE green.”

Milkweed Editions
“As a publisher whose nonfiction list focuses on the relationship between humans and nature, Milkweed Editions is obviously concerned with the physical effect our publishing process has on the greater environment. As members of the Green Press Initiative, we are currently printing almost exclusively on 100% post-consumer waste, recycled paper, and only at Forest Stewardship Council-certified printing houses. While paper usage is our single greatest literal impact on the environment, we are also working hard to find sustainable options for other printing process inputs (soy-based inks, etc). As for our home office, Milkweed is located in The Open Book, a literary center constructed with reclaimed materials within a reclaimed warehouse space. We are also currently in the process of developing an office-wide sustainability program to ensure that our day-to-day work is not creating unnecessary waste. Beyond the physical impact of our work though, we have also partnered with a number of environmental organizations to advance their work, produce books together, and/or promote our own books. Ultimately, though, we would like to think that the friendliest thing we do, environmentally speaking, is to publish books that challenge the way people think about nature.” – Patrick Thomas

**Is your company taking a green initiative? Tell us what you're doing to help the environment!