Today is Blog Action Day. Thousands of bloggers around the world are blogging about one issue: the environment. I’m writing specifically about the publishing industry (my industry) and the environment.

What I found isn’t pretty. I started my research by picking six random books from my shelf and seeing if any of them mentioned the use of recycled paper or eco-friendly inks. One book (published by FC2) mentioned that it was printed on recycled paper with soy ink. All of FC2’s books, at least those published in this decade, have that note. But that’s it. According to Conservatree (a nonprofit organization dedicated to converting paper markets to environmental papers), “more than 90% of the printing and writing paper made in this country [the USA] today is still virgin paper” and “[r]ecycled paper production saves trees, energy and water, produces less pollution, uses more benign chemicals, and requires less bleaching than virgin paper production. It also solves a community disposal problem.”

Even though there are lots and lots of books printed each year, books are considered permanent. Magazines and newspapers, however, are not. They’re meant to be quick reads, and more often than not, they aren’t saved. I read newspapers online, and honestly can’t remember the last time I purchased a physical newspaper. Magazines, though, usually only offer partial content online, so die-hard mag heads don’t have too many options. Conde Nast perhaps does the most damage as one of the world’s largest magazine publishers. As Todd Larsen of Co-op America put it, “We feel it’s hypocritical that the company’s magazine Traveler shows really nice nature scenes and yet is printed on virgin paper, which destroys the types of scenery it shows.”

But at the same time, if Conde Nast did decide to go green, could they? Across the board? There aren’t that many mills producing recycled paper because the demand isn’t great enough. And the demand from publishers isn’t great enough because (1) “recycleds can sell at as much as a 10 percent premium over virgin paper” and (2) consumers aren’t insisting on recycled paper or eco-friendly inks.

As consumers, we don’t have control over the prices (though some suggest it does not necessarily cost more to use recycled paper), but we can raise our voices in various ways and vote with our wallets. Ask your favorite magazine, newspaper, and book publishers if they use recycled paper, and if not, why not. Take a stand by telling them you won’t buy their products until they switch to recycled, and even give examples of comparable magazines/newspapers/book publishers who do use recycled paper and who you will buy from. Tell them about the Green Press Initiative. Sign a petition (or several: type “petition recycled paper” into Google). Educate yourself. Authors, ask your publisher to do the responsible thing.

And to publishers: consumers are willing to pay a little more for you to print on recycled paper. Really. Honest. Not a ton, but they’d consider that extra dollar or so to be going to a good cause. And consumers will talk about and praise your efforts! That’s some really positive word-of-mouth marketing, the kind that leads to a higher profile for your company and also increased sales. It might seem a bit risky at first, but the benefits are immediate for you and for the planet. If you’re not sure where to start, contact the Green Press Initiative and your printer.