The Bookseller introduces new fully compostable magazine wrapper

The Bookseller magazine will now be delivered in fully compostable material for the first time, replacing its previous recyclable polythene wrap.

The new 100% compostable material (BIOPLAST 300) is made using potato starch mixed with biodegradable polyesters and is ‘OK Compost Home’ certified, so subscribers to the magazine can now dispose of the wrapper in their garden compost heap, green waste bin or kitchen food waste caddy.

The magazine has also this week published its first ever Sustainability Special, shining a focus on the important work publishers and booksellers are putting into eco-friendly activities, as well as the publishing that is being commissioned around the subject.

The green agenda came to the fore at the Booksellers Association conference earlier this week, with BA president Nic Bottomley arguing that it was time for “big collaborative conversations”, adding: “We may be great at recycling our waste material, but let’s have a think about how many books we’re destroying as an industry. And how much fuel we’re burning, shipping too many books into our shops in the first place just so we can ship back the ones we don’t sell to be efficiently recycled."

This new wrap is just one of many steps in The Bookseller’s overall commitment to become a more environmentally friendly organisation and to reduce its carbon footprint. The creation of a new Green Committee at the company has already led to significant improvements in these areas, including a review of energy efficient appliances within the office, the sourcing of items and materials such as cleaning products and paper, and research into tree planting schemes to offset carbon emissions from staff travel to/from book fairs overseas. Additional changes include the use of bamboo lanyards for The Bookseller’s regular publishing conferences, a material which is sustainably sourced and biodegradable.

Philip Jones, editor, said: "There are small day-to-day things we can do now that will have an incremental impact, but we'll also be supporting the trade in the wider conversations that are beginning around how we make the business more sustainable and less wasteful. There are good business and ethical reasons to do both."

For subscription enquiries or for further information about these products, contact subscriptions@thebookseller.com.