Harry Potter Turns New Leaf

Boy Wizard Saves the Day . . . and the Trees . . . With Phoenix's Recycled Paper

Posted: 04-Jun-2003; Updated: 24-Aug-2005

School may be out for summer, but kids around the world will soon be rushing back to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for Harry Potter's latest adventure. This time around Harry is saving more than Muggles (non-magical humans to you Potter-challenged folks) and his Hogwarts mates from evil - the boy wonder with the lightning bolt on his head is helping to save some of the world's forests.

The Canadian edition of the expected bestseller Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is being printed on 100% postconsumer recycled, chlorine-free paper.  By printing such a wildly popular book with recycled paper stock, Raincoast Books is showing how being ecologically responsible doesn't take magic.  It takes initiative.

The greening of the fifth book in the Harry Potter series is part of a broader effort by publishers and writers in Canada and the U.S., led by the Markets Initiative, to increase the use of environmentally friendly papers in their books. So far, 35 Canadian and 20 U.S. publishers have made formal commitments to use recycled and other environmentally preferable papers, and millions of forest-friendly books have been printed on such paper in Canada during the past 18 months.

Markets Initiative's Campaigns Director Nicole Rycroft sees Raincoast's printing of the high-profile Harry Potter book as a move full of growth potential.  "We look forward to seeing publishers in other countries follow the lead of their Canadian colleagues in helping to safeguard biodiversity and the world's remaining ancient forests," said Rycroft.

Environmental Defense helped calculate the environmental benefits of the new Harry Potter book. Click here to view them.

If you are planning to buy a copy of the latest Harry Potter, consider getting one that's printed on 100% postconsumer recycled paper by ordering a Canadian edition. Can't fly a broom up North?  Go online at www.amazon.ca or www.indigo.ca.