The FOLIO: Green Report

per should be pre- or post-consumer. Ogpost-Consumer or pre-Consumer? post-Consumer reCyCleD paper is preferable because it forces den Publications’ Mother Earth News and there to be a mechanism and infrastructure to recover the used paUtne Reader use 100 percent post-consumer per from office buildings, schools and neighborhoods. Pre-consumer recycled paper. Mansueto Ventures’ Fast recycled paper is also good, but that paper already has an infrastrucCompany and Inc. use 100 percent recyture established to recover the paper. For instance, unsold magazines cled paper with a minimum of 85 percent on the newsstand will be picked up by the distributor when the next post-consumer recycled content. But most issue comes out and recycled–this is considered “pre-consumer,” as the magazine has not reached its intended end-use in the hands of magazines going green, like American Mea consumer. A magazine purchased and read at home, tossed into a dia Inc.’s Shape, Natural Health and Plenty, recycling bin and turned into recycled paper is “post-consumer.” n have gone with 30 percent post-consumer waste paper. (Some paper manufacturers will even include up to 10 percent recycled pulp without zine pays about 2.2 percent more for the 10 percent PCW notifying anyone because it doesn’t affect cost or quality.) paper ($1.00/cwt). The remaining 70 percent of the paper Reducing trim sizes and basis weights will also reduce used in Plenty is FSC certified. “Sustainable business pracconsumption and cost. Dwell recently made the switch to tices frequently cost more,” says Spellun. “But there really recycled paper and offset the price premium by reduc- is no alternative.” When Surfer made the switch to recycled paper three ing its trim size. Subscribers have taken a keen interest in the magazine’s impact on the environment, and are years ago, it estimated the additional cost of printing literally stopping by the office to learn more about it—a would be about $100,000 a year—an increase that forced dozen people per month are given office tours, according the magazine to increase its cover price by $1.00 to $4.99. to president and publisher Michaela O’Connor Abrams. “Readers want an alternative reading experience What Kind oF inK is green? with green at the core,” she says. “Green ink” is very limited, Locantore says. While Publishers should also work with paper supplisoy-based ink may sound environmentally-susers on cleaning the production process to reduce tainable, the jury is out on “green” ink, at least chemical use. Locantore says that would involve so far. Petroleum-based inks dry quicker than vegeliminating the use of any chlorine or chlorine-cometable-based inks, thereby using less energy. “It’s pounds in the bleaching process, reducing reliance on near impossible for vegetable inks to dry adequately on non-renewable energy sources and moving towards more a web press, which the majority of magazines use,” he alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar. says. There is also the unknown aspect of the Life-Cycle Time Inc. has been monitoring its environmental im- Analysis (LCA) for vegetable inks, Locantore adds. “Is the pact to such a degree that it employs a director of sus- production process for the LCA of the vegetable ink better tainable development in David Refkin, who has become than petroleum-based inks? It’s not known yet.” one of the magazine industry’s leaders in sustainability. But that doesn’t mean publishers aren’t using it. All of “Part of my job is risk management and promoting posi- Ogden’s titles use 28.7 percent soy-based inks. tive change and turning it into a business opportunity,” he taKeaWays says. Time Inc. buys 500,000 tons of paper annually from 53 mills. As part of an enterprise-wide sustainability effort, Refkin says that the company has boosted its certified sustainable forestry paper content. Currently, 70 percent of its fiber meets CSF standards, up 25 percent from 2002. Green publishing standards: Magazine paper should contain recycled waste, with 30 percent post-consumer waste a realistic goal (10 percent post-consumer content should be considered minimum). Using virgin fiber for your “green issue” sends a terrible message to your readers and the industry. What you Can Do to be Green: Use a credible forest certification service such as the Forest Stewardship Council to ensure the paper fiber you are using is harvested sustainably. Actively manage all aspects of your supply chain to reduce your magazine’s impact on the environment. resources: Forest Stewardship Council; Co-Op America’s Magazine Paper Project; the Magazine Publishers of America’s 2008 Environmental Handbook What does going green cost? Making the switch to environmentally-friendly paper does not necessarily mean you will be paying more. Depending on your relationship with your supplier, it may cost more, less or about the same as standard, virgin fiber paper. Plenty, a consumer title focused on “green” lifestyle, is printed on 85-to-100 percent recycled, 30 percent postconsumer waste paper, which costs about 7.8 percent more than standard paper. “We are paying approximately $4.00/cwt,” says Mark Spellun, Plenty’s publisher and editor-in-chief. For the cover stock, Spellun says the magaFolio: October 2008 | foliomag.com http://www.foliomag.com

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Folio Green Report What Does it Mean to be Green? Production Operations Editorial Distribution Events Marketing Digital One Publisher's Green Checklist

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