Mags and websites collaborate on climate change clearinghouse

Hoping to corral a combined online audience of more than 25 million unique monthly visitors, 1.5 million print readers and a TV audience of 1.5 million, The Atlantic, Mother Jones and Wired magazines are partnering with Slate, Grist and the Centre for Investigative Reporting and PBS to create a go-to site called Climate Desk. It will explore the impact of climate change. According to a story

Database tracks phenomenal growth of eco-paper availability

The number of eco-papers available to printers in North America has grown from 97 to 228 in just 18 months, according to information released by Canopy, the  non-profit organization working to improve the environmental performance of paper and wood companies.
"We're witnessing a phenomenal shift in the paper industry where sustained and growing green demand is steering paper production towards

Indigo tells customers which books are green; can magazines be far behind?

Canada’s leading book retailer, Indigo Books & Music Inc. now tells its customers -- in kiosks in their stores and online -- which books are printed on papers containing recycled and/or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) fibre, according to a posting on the website of Canopy, the campaigners for sustainable paper use.
Book titles that lack environmental information at the kiosks either have no

Quarto Communications in good company in environmental awards

Quarto Communications Ltd. of Toronto, the publishers of Cottage Life and explore magazines, has been cited as a finalist and "long time leader" in the annual Aveda Environmental Awards for Magazines, presented in Minnesota.
The 2009 awards for environmental leadership, sponsored by the beauty products firm and Green America, a non-profit organization promoting responsible paper and production

Survey looks for interest in wheat sheet and other eco-papers

After its trial project last year with Canadian Geographic magazine, using paper containing surplus wheat straw, Canopy (formerly Markets Initiative), the organization campaigning for sustainable forestry practices is launching an online survey to find out how much appetite there is for such papers.
“This study is the first of its kind in North America. Up until now, information about the market

Environmentally responsible magazines eligible for Aveda Environmental Awards

Any consumer or B-to-B magazine that uses environmentally responsible paper/production practices are eligible to enter the Aveda Environmental Award, founded in 2005 to celebrate environmental leadership and achievement in the magazine industry.There are three categories:“New Launch” for magazines launched after Jan 2007“Improved Commitment” for magazines that have improved their magazine’s

One National Geographic magazine emits carbon equivalent of driving 2 miles

Few magazines have the resources, or perhaps even the interest, to determine the impact on the planet of their printing and production. However, National Geographic has collaborated with paper company Verso Paper Co., Quad/Graphics (the magazine's printer) and Harmony Environmental, an environmental consulting firm, to calculate just what its "carbon footprint" is. The results were unveiled today

Sorting out the standards for eco-certified paper and wood products

Magazine publishers who want to be on the side of the angels are confronted by a variety of certifications being bandied about for paper from eco-certified wood pulp. So called "green" terms are tossed about like logs in a stream, but consumers and publishers alike could be forgiven for being baffled by the gab.Christopher Pollan, a contributing editor for The Tyee in Vancouver has written the

British magazine association to unveil carbon footprint tool

Britain's Periodical Publishers Association (the equivalent of Magazines Canada) is to unveil a new tool that allows magazines to calculate the "carbon footprint" of their titles.The carbon calculator will be unveiled at the International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) world magazine congress opening in London this week, according to a story in Press Gazette.The tool, which has taken

Indigo will be demanding 50% recycled paper in magazines within 5 years

A friend has passed along a brochure in which Indigo Books & Music, Canada's largest magazine retailer, has published its plans to reduce its paper use by 25% by 2012.While this may seem like a paradox for a company that deals in paper, a brochure distributed in the chain's stores says that the company intends to have 30% post-consumer recycled content in their internal paper use within 12

Type shop provides print buyers with tools to measure ecological footprint

A Toronto type shop called Colour Innovations has launched a new feature on its website that allows print buyers to measure their ecological footprint, reports Design Edge Canada.Under the Eco Tools button on the site are definitions of numerous environmental terms, links and an FAQ section with important questions to address to your print and premedia suppliers.“We’ve put the information for

Champions of ancient forest friendly paper honoured

Markets Initiative, the doughty champions of ancient forest friendly paper use in Canadian publications, has given out "Order of the Forest" awards to a number of people at magazines and printers for their support and encouragement of the cause. The awards were made Friday at the MagNet magazine conference. Since this is the first time the awards have been given out, there was some catchup to do,

Checkerspot trolls for story ideas

It's not often you see a magazine send out a release inviting story ideas for its next issue,particularly with a week's lead time. That's the case with the newly launched Checkerspot magazine from the Canadian Wildlife Federation, whose editors are asking writers for story ideas by June 1 for their fall/winter 2007 issue. The magazine was launched in May and is published twice a year and here's

National Geographic branches out; always green, now wants to be seen as green

Funny, we thought that National Geographic, the yellow-bordered staple of many a living room bookcase, was pretty 'green' already. But given the current trend towards heightened ecological consciousness and environmental emphasis, the venerable publication and the Society which publishes it has apparently decided to draw some attention to what it has always done. According to a story in

Canadian Wildlife Federation to launch climate change magazine called Checkerspot

[This post has been updated]The Canadian Wildlife Federation is taking the opportunity provided by the Green Living show in Toronto this weekend to launch a new magazine on climate change called Checkerspot. The name comes from the Edith's checkerspot (shown), a small orange, black and white butterfly whose changing life history has made it a symbol of the impacts of climate change. The

What a way to go; green dying in Harrowsmith Country Life

Green living is all the rage; now, perhaps, so is green dying. An item in the Almanac department of the current (April) issue of Harrowsmith Country Life, from Malcolm Publishing, explores the issues and benefits of "natural" burial, without all of the extraneous (and expensive) trappings pushed by the traditional funeral industry. It talks about how you can be put six feet under in an

Forest Friendly seminar in Toronto

There's a seminar in Toronto on March 21 for people in magazines who care about the environment (which we take to be all of you). March 21 from 9 to 11:30 a.m., the session will explore the environmental options avaialable to magazines.Presenters include Neva Murtha of Markets Initiative and Mark Patenaude, Vice-president of Sales and Marketing from St. Joseph Printing. The seminar takes place at