On average one tree will give its life for around 100 books. According to Gabriel Zeil in ‘How Many Books’, a book is published somewhere in the world every 30 seconds. These facts underscore quite a common misconception, that being, since the introduction of television the publication of the book has taken a decline. In fact, the absolute opposite has occurred.

The number of titles published worldwide each year has grown from 250,000 to 1million over the last fifty years. These statistics can translate to a lot of natural resources being used in production, and the entire process clearly having a significant impact on the environment and its planet. But there are ways in which any author can look to change the traditional methods of publication, and hopefully begin to influence the culture of book production worldwide via the green momentum.

The first place to start is with the publisher themselves. After all, they will be able to provide details of the book manufacturer, printer and book consultant, and help to elicit how familiar each are with environmentally sound publishing practices. And if they do not meet your eco-needs, then find a publisher who is already using environmentally friendly practices – after all its is your publication and you’re effectively in control.

“Now it is easier than ever,” says Tyson Miller of The Green Press Initiative. “With over sixty environmentally responsible book papers available and stocked by over twenty book printers, the book industry is in the midst of a transformation—with over 140 publishers with environmental policies in place.”
The book manufacturer and printer Thomson-Shore Inc., for instance, use only 100% post-consumer recycled waste binder board for all their hardcover book projects. Other companies provide endpapers (those papers just inside your hardcover book) using 100% solvent-free processes. These seemingly ‘smaller’ changes concerning paper, simply come down to a matter of choice before press, but hold the potential to invigorate (or even force) the publication markets to make a permanent modification.

The paper is of course a major component of every book and is often the primary focus of most green deliberation in the book publishing industry. Post-consumer recycled, percent recycled, acid-free, chlorine free, and FSC certified are just some of the different paper types available.
As an author, when you specify post-consumer paper, besides mitigating the amount of trees cut for the paper’s production, it will help expand the market for recycled products and the viability of recycling programs – further steps like asking for soy-based or vegetable based inks instead of petroleum-based inks for the print are also just as significant.

To be sure that the publication is ecologically sound there are many green certifications, including Processed Chlorine Free (PCF), Totally Chlorine Free (TCF), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Ancient Forest Friendly™ (AFF), Green-e® for renewable energy products.

These are all approachable and applicable ways into to beginning the publication of your Green Book. But the foundation of all these pathways has to be set with the initial question: How do I make my book green? And now with a more informed awareness of just some of the ways in which this is possible, further investigation can follow with ease.

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