Last weekend when the United States celebrated Independence Day, Eco-Libris had its own birthday celebration - we have just turned two years old! Yes, another year passed and let me tell you - it wasn't an easy one. Like many others we had to cope with difficult economy and work hard to keep our heads above the water. At the same time, we try to look at these difficulties as an opportunity to improve, innovate, develop new programs and explore more ways to pursue our mission more effectively.
Still it was a year of progress - we managed to create more partnerships, enhance our educational work, tighten our relationships with our planting partners, contribute to the discussion about green issues in the book industry and of course plant more trees!
I am proud to report that Eco-Libris balanced out so far 98,066 books, which resulted in 111,390 new trees, of which 45,525 are the result of our operations on the second year.
Here's a reminder of some of things we did on this year, month by month:
July 2008Still it was a year of progress - we managed to create more partnerships, enhance our educational work, tighten our relationships with our planting partners, contribute to the discussion about green issues in the book industry and of course plant more trees!
I am proud to report that Eco-Libris balanced out so far 98,066 books, which resulted in 111,390 new trees, of which 45,525 are the result of our operations on the second year.
Here's a reminder of some of things we did on this year, month by month:
The UConn co-op joins Eco-Libris bookstores program
Madeline Kaplan, author of "Planet Earth Gets Well" is collaborating with Eco-Libris
Subscription option is becoming available on Eco-Libris website
August 2008
BlogHer's first book "Sleep is for the Weak" is going green with Eco-Libris
Tania Hershman, author of "The White Road and Other Stories" is collaborating with Eco-Libris
New collaboration with Bookworm Baskets, which sells book-themed gift baskets
September 2008
GreetQ, an online greeting card retailer, is collaborating with Eco-Libris
Eco-Libris is contributing to a demonstration of a green campus residence hall
A collaboration with Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing in an educational contest for kids
October 2008
New partnership with the Norwegian publisher Flux starts with a book on Arne Næss
Eco-Libris is collaborating with Dutch author Annet Struik
"The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear" is going green with Eco-Libris
November 2008
A new collaboration with Aaspirations Publishing, a proud green publisher
We have a monthly newsletter with special offers to our subscribers
Eco-Libris is collaborating with BookSwim in an holiday campaign
December 2008
We publish the annual assessments of our planting partners
An interview on Treehugger.com
Publishing the Green Collar Holiday Gift Guide for Book Lovers
January 2009
Collaboration with eBook publisher, Wyrdwood Publications, starts with "The Mouse in the Viking's Beard"
Publishing an interview with Greg Barber, an eco-friendly printer
February 2009
Eco-Libris is available now at Hooray for Books! in Old Alexandria, Virginia
Celebrating another successful planting season of our planting partner RIPPLE Africa with photos from Malawi
We report on our blog on a green publisher that bits the recession - Chelsea Green Publishing
March 2009
The publisher and the author of "Sammy and Sue Go Green Too!" is collaborating with Eco-Libris
Eco-Libris on the cover of Awareness Magazine
New collaboration with the authors of "Green Beginnings"
April 2009
Raincoast Books and Eco-Libris are collaborating in a green campaign "Buy a book, Plant a tree"
Eco-Libris is taking part in a green reading event of the Chicago Bulls in a local school
A green campaign on Facebook
May 2009
A joint campaign with Barefoot Books in celebration of their new book 'Earth Tales'
Partnering with Pilcrow Lit Fest in Chicago
Participating in BookExpo America
June 2009
In collaboration with Greg Barber, we start a new series on our blog of weekly green printing tips
New collaboration with Kathleen Wilson, the author of the new book 'Rumer & Qix: The Race to Terra Incognita'
Bambeco, an online retailer of eco-friendly and stylish products for the home, is collaborating now with Eco-Libris
And what's next? we already work on new programs that we believe will assist us in achieving our goals - greening up the book industry and making reading more sustainable.We'll have more details soon so stay tuned!
We would also like to take this opportunity and thank everyone involved in our efforts - from the dedicated eco-conscious readers that balance out their books with us, through our business partners that take action to support the environment all the way to our wonderful planting partners that are doing such a great job in planting the trees in developing countries.
Thank you all!
Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net
*photo is courtesy of RIPPLE Africa from the 2008/9 planting season - Makuzi Afforestation club
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net
*photo is courtesy of RIPPLE Africa from the 2008/9 planting season - Makuzi Afforestation club
