Magazines' Attempt at Going "Green"

“The Green Issue”. Many major consumer magazine publications have published one. The one issue a season that is supposedly wholly dedicated to saving the environment and living with a “green” consciousness. According to Frank Locantore, director of the Magazine Paper Project for Co-Op America, only 100 published magazines are currently printed on recycled paper. In all reality, just how “green” are these magazines?

As I was flipping through the March 2008 “Green Issue” of Outside Magazine, I noticed the vast array of advertisements featuring oversized Chevy trucks and cheap airfare to exotic destinations. While the articles were based on everything from the climate crisis to stackable electrical cars, the coinciding ads were sending a mixed message to the readers’ eye. Tree Hugger, a company dedicated to making sustainability appeal to the mainstream market, found that Outside is printed on only 10% recycled paper.

Vanity Fair, a leading consumer fashion magazine has now published three “Green Issues” and have been widely criticized for merely “talking green”. Their green edition contained absolutely no recycled paper as previously planned before the issue was printed. While it may be argued that producing recycled paper still uses a lot of energy and contributes to deforestation, as long print magazine exists, more environmentally friendly paper is a small stepping stone forward rather than backward.

As pointed out in these special edition issues, the pressures for everyone to take environmental responsibility has become extremely evident these days, but hardly do the magazine publication houses actually practice what they preach. I would personally hate to see print magazine vanish completely, but in this age of advanced technology and the world wide web, digital magazines are on the verge of completely changing the face of the magazine industry. Several leading magazines, Spin, Relix, and California Home & Design, have already taken the leap on digital issues and have been hugely successful. While encouraging sustainability through mass media is greatly appreciated, seeing major publishers follow their own advice may give them more credibility on the issue of the climate crisis.