Random House Increases Recycled Paper Usage

Random House Increases Recycled Paper Usage

May 22 2006

Making one of the most dramatic environmentally conscience production moves of any major publisher to date, Random House announced Tuesday that it will be significantly increasing its reliance on recycled paper. Over the next four years it plans to increase the amount of recycled paper it uses from 3% of total production, to 30%. Tyson Miller, program director at Green Press Initiative, said that while 105 U.S. publishers have adopted various policies regarding recycled paper use over the past four years, what Random House has announced is "the real deal." It's also something he hopes will spark other major houses to establish similar programs. "Many of the other multinationals have stated that they won't be first, but would most likely follow the lead," he said. "So we'll have to see what the ripple effect of this policy will look like."

When asked how houses could afford to use more recycled paper, Miller said pricing for it might go down if demand increases significantly. Of course this hasn't happened yet so, for many publishers, getting deeper into a reliance on recycled paper means higher production costs. While Drake confirmed that Random House will not push the increased cost of its recycled paper program back to the consumer, Miller said that even if publishers raised book costs to go green, consumers likely wouldn't mind. Citing a national survey in which 80% of 1,000 readers questioned said they would pay more for books printed on recycled paper, Miller explained that people want environmentally sound publishing more than cheaper books. He then added: "Publishers can do the right thing…without it affecting their profits."

More News Stories