Raincoast Books, the Canadian co-publisher of the Harry Potter (in partnership with Bloomsbury), worked a little of its own magic for biodiversity and the world's forests by printing the Canadian edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on ancient forest friendly paper in 2003.
The approximately one million copies of the Canadian edition are the only ones in the world to be printed on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper. The initiative won praise from the author, J.K. Rowling, and a special message for Canadian readers:
"The forest at Hogwarts is home to magical creatures like unicorns and centaurs. Because the Canadian editions are printed on Ancient-Forest Friendly paper, the Harry Potter books are helping to save magnificent forests in the Muggle world, forests that are home of magical animals such as Orangutans, Wolves and Bears. It's a good idea to respect ancient trees, especially if they have a temper like the Whomping Willow."
By printing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on 100 percent chlorine-free, post-consumer (recycled) paper, an astounding 39,320 trees were saved. And the greenhouse gases saved during the production of the book were equally enormous - the equivalent to driving a car 5.3 million kilometres.
The Italian hardback edition of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', published by Salani in 2004, was printed on paper that included 30 per cent Forest Stewardship Council certified virgin fibre.
Last year, publisher Bloomsbury UK responded positively to the campaign by including some recycled content in the children's (10 per cent) and adult's (20 per cent) paperback of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'. However, the new book, 'Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince', due out on the 16th July could be 100 per cent ancient forest friendly. Greenpeace are currently waiting to hear back from Bloomsbury regarding the paper they will be using for the new book.
