a new, greener harry

Environmental fans of Potter can breathe slightly easier. After the 100% recycled Canadian version cut into Scholastic's profits last time, the publisher has come around. This time, the book's going to be published on paper that's at least 30% post-consumer waste fiber. Still no word on whether the wands come from sustainable-growth forests, though ...

Harry Potter, Friend of the Forests
March 20, 2007, 4:17 pm
By Mike Nizza

When Scholastic announced that it would be printing 12 million copies of the final Harry Potter book, the number inspired more awe than practical concerns. Chiefly, where is all that paper going to come from?

The answer came today: Sixty-five percent of the 16,700 tons needed for the launch will be manufactured from forests approved by the Forest Stewardship Council, a group that sets global standards for sustainable forest-keeping, according to their site.

All the books will contain contain “a minimum of 30 percent post-consumer waste fiber,'’ or paper that has been collected for recycling.

For more details, read the news release on Earthtimes.org, and click on something there while you are feeling green.

The Associated Press remembers criticism for Scholastic in 2005 that may have led to the shift:

Greenpeace and other environmental groups complained that Scholastic wasn’t using enough recycled paper [in ‘’Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'’] and urged consumers to buy copies from the Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books.

Scott Paul, who works on forests for Greenpeace, today expressed his approval to the A.P., while assuring readers that “many of the Harry Potter fans worldwide have been able to enjoy the books on FSC-certified paper.”

Phew. Now everyone can worry about more important things, like what’s going to happen to Harry!
Via The NY Times