A report released today by the Rainforest Action Network points to an unexpected enemy in the battle to save the endangered forests: Children’s books.
The press release explains how the organization came to this conclusion: “RAN had 30 colored children’s books tested for fiber associated with deforestation in Indonesia and found that 18 of the 30 books (60 percent) contained controversial fiber. RAN’s tests point to a growing industry trend toward the overseas printing of children’s books, as well as other glossy paper books like coffee table books and textbooks, on fiber that is from controversial and endangered sources.”
The text of the report goes into more depth: “Five out of the top ten American children’s book publishers have public environmental and paper procurement policies that pledge to reduce the companies’ impact on the climate, protect endangered forests, increase the use of recycled and FSC certified fiber and maximize resource efficiency. However, despite these important policy commitments, wood fiber from Indonesia is ending up in children’s books.”
It’s a small sample, but the group claims it’s indicative of a larger trend. And according to RAN campaign director Lafcadio Cortesi, “We don’t think that kids and their parents want to choose between loving books and protecting the rainforest.”