Novel solution

New Harry Potter book printed on ethical paper

Fans with their nose in the latest Harry Potter know they’ve got wizardry in their hands. Not just within its pages… This time the schoolboy’s encounters with witchcraft unfold on ‘ancient forest friendly’ paper.

The essential ingredient in this magical-sounding material is paper sourced from woodland certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. FSC approval signifies that woodlands are being managed sustainably, respecting the needs of wildlife and indigenous peoples. Greenpeace, campaigning for the bestseller to take up the paper challenge, originally pushed for 100% FSC-approved sourcing. But Belinda Fletcher, the pressure group’s forest campaigner, is nevertheless pleased to have got publishers Bloomsbury to agree to 30% FSC - and the rest guaranteed not to come from forests with a high conservation value, or where the industry violates civil rights. After all, as she points out, “most major publishing houses in the country are still sourcing from countries like Finland, where illegal logging is a big problem. Eighteen months ago, we were starting with a blank sheet - there was no FSC-certified paper in the UK at all.” The ideal ‘ancient forest friendly’ paper, Fletcher says, would be 100% recycled post-consumer waste. Failing that, where some virgin paper is needed - for example in glossy magazines - the wood pulp should come from FSC-certified forests. It is, she concedes, “a shame there’s no recycled content” in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. But she believes the industry is starting to turn the page, adding: “This high profile book should send a clear message down the supply chain.”

Pearson, the publisher of Penguins, Rough Guides and much more besides, has also taken the first step of pledging to move towards ancient forest friendly paper. And Fletcher’s ideal is not out of reach. Several titles have already been printed on 100% recycled paper by MQP Publications. - Hannah Bullock

MQP Publications, 020 7359 2244

21 July 2005

Hannah Bullock