As many of our everyday activities our reading behaviour also has an impact on our environment. The way we obtain and consume books can be more or less environmentally friendly. In this post I compiled a few tips and ideas for you to make your reading more sustainable.
For the production of paper trees are being chopped down. As any other consumption good books are also transported from the place where they are produced to the place where they are sold and are thus causing emissions. And of course we should not forget that where we buy also has an impact on our earth: Do we support a local indie business or does our money go to a global corporation? Do we buy, swap or borrow?
The (probably) easiest way to make your reading more sustainable is be re-using books. Books are not a consumption good that lose their worth over time. We can use them again and again: Buy second hand, take use of your local library or participate in book swaps. By re-using books that have been read before or passing them on you don’t create a demand for the production of new books which means that no trees need to be chopped down for the production of high quality paper.
Another way to save paper is by investing in an e-reader. However, I chose not to include this in my list of ideas to make your reading more sustainable because an e-reader is not affordable to everyone and also because we are all aware of the conditions under which the materials for our smartphones and other technical devices are obtained. Despite that there is of course the possibilty to buy a second hand e-reader and give used technology a new life.
I already buy most of my books second hand since it is not only more sustainable but also more affordable. But since there are no large Anglophone sections at the library or the second hand and charity shops in my city, I still often turn to ordering second hand books online to get a specific edition of a book.
Because I know that the shipping and transportation causes CO2 emissions, I decided to open a private sustainability fund: Whenever I order books online or buy them first hand, I pay one euro into this fund. After collecting a small sum I will donate the collected money to an organisation for environmental causes. It may only be a small thing but I think it is something that will make me more aware of the impact of my everyday decisions.
Tips to make your reading more sustainable:
- Join your local library: Mine is a real treasure chest filled with the newest releases and old classics that I have always wanted to read
- Participate in offline or online book swaps
- Buy books second hand or in charity shops, if possible
- Borrow books from your friends and lend them some of yours. Reading is even more fun when you can discuss your books with a loved one
- If you want to support the author by buying first hand, buy at a local independent bookstore
- Let friends and family know that you prefer getting second hand books as gifts instead of first hand books
- Ask other people whether they mind receiving second hand books as presents
- After finishing a book don’t just let it rot on your shelves – borrow it to your friends, donate it or swap it
- Open a sustainability fund in which you pay a certain amout of money every time you buy a book online or second hand. Donate the collected money to an environmental charity
What are your tips and tricks to make your reading more sustainable?
Tell me in the comments or click here to read my last post.
Well said 🙂 I hope that more publishers turn to producing carbon neutral books, and I think it’s our responsibility as readers and bloggers to actively push for a bigger change here. We can only exert so much power as consumers, but as reader-activists we’re in a different position.
I agree! I think many readers wouldn’t mind books that are produced from recycled paper for example. And we also shouldn’t put all the responsibility onto the consumers. It’s the system that needs to change and, as you said, as consumers we can only exert so much power.