We have a winner on "The Looking Book" giveaway!

We had a giveaway following to review of "The Looking Book" - the green book we recommended as a gift for parents, and we have a winner!

We asked you to share with us your experience on what's the best way to get children to play outside and we got great replies, both here and on Eco Children's Play, where the review was re-published.

And our winner is Melissa, who wrote the following:

My children LOVE to play outside, but sometimes it can be hard, one way is to give them bubbles, or balls, something that is more of a no no in the house, that usually gets them outside for me. Also sometimes we have picnics and they LOVE that, getting to eat somewhere other than the table, its a great way to get them outside and using their imagination too.

Congrats, Melissa! You won our review copy of the book, and we'll also plant a tree for this book and add our "One tree planted for this book" sticker to the book!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!

Green printing tip no. 27: Can you save money on paper on your next greeting cards order?

We're back with another tip on our weekly series of green printing tips, where we bring you information on green printing in collaboration with Greg Barber, an experienced eco-friendly printer.

Today's tip is about greeting cards, and even though you probably won't be able to implement it this holiday, there's always the next holiday waiting there.. The lesson we're learning today is that when it comes to green printing size does matter.

Can you save money on paper on your next greeting cards order?

Tip #27

The answer is clearly Yes. Here is my recommendation on what you should to trim your paper costs the next time you print greeting cards:

1. Contact your printer first, before designing your next print project. Did you know we can save you 50% on your paper prices, if you avoid designing a job that wastes a lot of paper?

2. Consider that the popular Greeting Card size 10 x 7, that scores to 5 x 7, may only get 2 cards up, when printing them digitally on a 13 x 19 sheet of paper. The 10 inch side can cut into the 13 inch dimension and the 7 inch side, cuts 2 out of the 19 inch dimension.

3. By changing to 9 x 6.25 that folds to 4.5 x 6.25, or slightly smaller than the 5 x 7 size above, we can cut the 9 inch into the 19" dimension 2 up, and the 6.25 inch side cuts 2 up into the 13" dimension. Two times Two equals Four is something we all learned, a long time ago...

So if you wanted 1000 greeting cards at the 9 x 6.25 inch flat size, we would use 250 sheets of 13 x 19 paper at 4 up, and yield you the 1000 greeting cards you need. If you held firm on
the 10 x 7 flat size, we would need 500 sheets of 13 x 19 to yield you 1000 greeting cards.

4. And the savings? Our cost on 100% post-consumer paper in 100# cover might be 25 cents per sheet on the 13 x 19 size paper, or $62.50 more paper. And, we would need to throw away a strip of paper that might be 3" x 5" times 500 sheets of paper waste. That alone is an awful environmental waste.

Call me before your next job, and I will advise you the size to run.

For additional information, please call Greg Barber at (973) 224-1132, or email greg@gregbarberco.com.

Also, if you have any questions you would like us to address in future tips please email us to info@ecolibris.net .

Latest tips:

Green Printing Tip #26 - What can we do to reduce the carbon footprint of direct mailing campaigns?

Green Printing Tip #25 - Can you Green your print advertising?

Green Printing Tip #24 - Can we be Greener in our use of Inter Office Envelopes, Presentation Folders, and Outgoing Envelopes?

You can find links to all the tips we published so far on our green printing tips page, which is part of our green printing tools & resources.

You can also find further valuable information on Greg Barber Company's website - http://www.gregbarberco.com.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing!

Green book review for the holidays - part 4: The book you should bring to sushi lovers

Today we have our fourth part on our holidays series, where we review green books that will make great presents this holiday season!

Each book will be dedicated to another group and we today we have a very big group of people - the sushi lovers. Our recommendation for them is on:

Sustainable Sushi: A Guide to Saving the Oceans One Bite at a Time

Author: Casson Trenor

From saving the whales of the Antarctic to studying the salmon of Alaska, Casson Trenor has worked to support stewardship of our marine resources in all five oceans and countless seas. Trenor has extensive experience and expertise: he has stalked the fetid warehouses of Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, spent two months journeying by ship along the Antarctic coast, berthed on leaking wrecks off Central Pacific islands, and gone octopus fishing with holy men on the Island of Yap.

Born in Seattle and living in San Francisco, Trenor speaks five languages, has traveled to over forty countries, and holds an MA in International Environmental Policy from the prestigious Monterey Institute of International Studies. Sustainable Sushi: A Guide to Saving the Oceans One Bite at a Time is Trenor’s first book.

Publisher: North Atlantic Books

Published on: January 2009

What this book is about? (from the publisher's website)
Sustainable Sushi answers the question on the minds of millions who enjoy eating fish: how can we indulge the desire to dine well while keeping our health and the health of the oceans in mind? With painstaking research found in no other book on the market to date, this pocket-size guide profiles dozens of the most common fish and shellfish one might encounter at a sushi bar, details where and how they are caught, whether or not they are safe, and how they figure in the current fishery crisis.

Written by a fishery and sustainability expert who was himself netted long ago by the allure of Japanese cuisine, Sustainable Sushi offers simple, clear explanations of such topics as mercury and PCB levels, overfishing, and species extinction. Attractively designed and featuring quick facts, maps, photos, and illustrations, the book was written for both the novice and the seasoned sushi fan. In a storm of seafood shortages and frightening statistics, Sustainable Sushi shows readers how to enjoy the sushi bar without guilt.

Why it's a great holiday gift for sushi lovers?

I like sushi and actually I never met someone who doesn't like it. It's really a great food, but like many other types of food that see growing demand, it has some issues involved with its supply that are threatening the next generations' ability to enjoy a nice sashimi or shiromaguro (aka white tuna).

Just last month, for example, Mongabay.com reported that Restaurants sampled in New York and Colorado are serving up bluefin tuna without informing their customers know they are dining on an endangered species, according to a new study in PLoS ONE."

Now, this book is not coming to tell you to stop eating fish. It's exactly the opposite as the author explains - "the goal of this book is not to tear you away from your favorite sushi bar. I don't want to forbid you the joys of fresh nigiri, nor the exhilaration of that extra smidgeon of wasabi your tongue; just the opposite, in fact. If, as a society, we are aware of the consequences of ours seafood choices, we can continue to eat sushi and protect the oceans at the same time."

So you got it - it's an educational book written from a very positive point of view, but is it really an interesting gift for the holidays? the answer is YES. The author created a guide that will make every sushi lover knowledgeable about sustainable sources of fish, mercury levels, fishing practices and much much more. So not only she or he will be able to know next time they go to a sushi place which dish is sustainable and which one isn't, but they can also impress their friends with pieces of information, such as how Skipjack tuna got their name (from their habit of leaping out of the water and effectively 'skipping' across the surface).

So the potential here is huge - becoming a sustainable sushi consumer, getting friends and family to become ones as well and get to become a fish expert and someone everyone is asking for their advice (Is it OK to eat Blue crab? how about the Stone crab?) in no time. Definitely worth it!

Price: $10.85

Disclosure: We received a copy of this book from the publisher.

More on our holidays series:

Green book for parents - The Looking Book
Green book for eco-shoppers - ECOHOLIC
Green book for small business owners (and employees) - Greening Your Small Business

And don't forget that if you're buying a green book, you can even make your gift greener by adding our holidays special offer to it - trees/stickers and a beautiful holidays gift card made of recycled paper. For further information, please go to www.ecolibris.net/holidays.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Last minute shopper? Check out our special green offer for the holiday!

CSMonitor.com reported that a survey released this week by the National Retail Federation (NRF) shows that the average US shopper had completed just 46.7 percent of their holiday shopping by the second week of December, the lowest since 2004.

If you're also one of those who wait for the last minute to buy their gifts for the holiday, and especially if it's snowy outside and you don't really feel like going anywhere, you're invited to check out the special green and affordable gift we're offering for the holiday!

Yes, Eco-Libris has a special offer for an holiday gift for you: Plant trees to balance out the books your loved ones read. We will send them a beautiful holiday card and Eco-Libris stickers to display on their books’ sleeves. Just change the shipping address on the PayPal payment page to the address of the gift receiver (or send us a separate email to info@ecolibris.net with the details) and we will take care of the rest!

If you're buying books as gifts, you can also add the stickers and the card, making it a great green gift (And if you're looking for an idea for a "green" book that can be a great holiday gift, you can find plenty of ideas on our green books campaign, as well as on our green book gifts for the holidays series).

The holiday greeting cards we send are made by Doodle Greetings (see picture). Not only these cards come with a beautiful design, but they are also eco-friendly - printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and are made chlorine-free and acid free. Sounds like a good fit with Eco-Libris stickers, which are also made of recycled paper!

This is also very affordable gift offer, starting from $6.50 for 5 trees/stickers and a holiday card!

Interested? go to our holidays page and check it out at http://www.ecolibris.net/Holidays.asp

Happy and Green Holiday!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting green reading!

Reminder: You can still win a copy of "The Looking Book"

We're giving away our review copy of The Looking Book by P.K. Hallinan, the green book we recommend as a holiday gift for parents.

How you can win? Please add a comment on the original review post and share with us your experience on what's the best way to get children to play outside. Submissions are accepted until tomorrow, December 18, 12PM EST. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Do you like to listen to books? Check out an interview with the editor and publisher of Audiofile magazine

eBbooks are getting much more attention than audiobooks, but did you know that audiobooks are already generating annual sales of around billion dollars? The Audio Publishers Association (APA) also reported that the audiobook industry experienced only a slight drop in sales in 2008, comparable to those of the trade book industry.

We have a special interest in audiobooks as we believe they represent one of the options to read books sustainably, especially when you download them - an option that represents right now about 21% of all sales (the rest are CDs).

Therefore, I would like to recommend on an interesting interview with on mediabistro's Morning Media Menu with Robin F. Whitten, the editor and publisher of Audiofile magazine - a magazine dedicated to audiobooks.

Whitten shared in this interview her thoughts about the digital future of the audiobook and also gave some ideas for holiday gift ideas for the audiobook lovers. You're also welcome to check the website of this interesting magazine at www.audiofilemagazine.com.

You can listen to the interview right here- http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mediabistro/2009/12/17/audiobooks-for-the-holidays

And it's also an opportunity to remind you the new audiobook of Al Gore - "OUR CHOICE: A Plan To Solve the Climate Crisis", which is narrated by Sex & the City's Cynthia Nixon, Mad Men's John Slattery, and Al Gore (published by Simon & Schuster Audio). Definitely a great holiday gift for audiobook lovers!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Green book review for the holidays - part 3: The book you should bring to small business owners

Today we have our third part on our holidays series, where we review green books that will make great presents this holiday season!

Each book will be dedicated to another group and we today we have a group that is the backbone of the American economy - small business owners (and employees!). And the green book we're recommending to give to the small biz owners is:

Greening Your Small Business: How to Improve Your Bottom Line, Grow Your Brand, Satisfy Your Customers - and Save the Planet

Author: Jennifer Kaplan

Jennifer Kaplan founded Greenhance, a business consultancy dedicated to provide marketing and communication strategies to small business going green. She has more than 20 years of marketing experience with companies such as Discovery Channel, Lifetime Television, Conde Nast Publications and Simon & Schuster Publishing. An Adjunct Faculty in Marketing at Marymount University, Jennifer has conducted in-depth research into consumer attitudes about how small businesses can most effectively go green. She is an alumnae of Barnard College and the New York University Stern School of Business.

Publisher: Prentice Hall Press

Published on: November 2009

What this book is about? (from the publisher's website)
The ultimate resource for small business owners who want to go green without going broke.

Greening Your Small Business is the definitive resource for those who want their small businesses to be cutting- edge, competitive, profitable, and eco-conscious. Filled with stories from small business owners of all stripes, Greening Your Small Business addresses every aspect of going green, from basics such as recycling, reducing waste, energy efficiency, and reducing the IT footprint, to more in-depth concerns such as green marketing and communications, green business travel, and green employee benefits.

For companies too small to hire consultants to draft and implement green policies and practices, this guide is designed for easy use, featuring:

• Simple ways to make the workplace greener
• Two plans of action for going green (divided into two levels)
• Definitions for green terminology and jargon

Why it's a great holiday gift for eco-shoppers?
If you know a small business owner or employee, you know small businesses are struggling in the current economy. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet to get out of the recession, but there are some ways to increase the chances to survive in the short term and prosper in the long term, and one of them is the green way. How you do it? Jennifer Kaplan's book is one of the best places to start with.

Going green has many definitions, but for small businesses it can definitely mean saving money and increasing profits by making your business more eco-friendly. The book is systematically covering all the relevant aspects for a small biz - marketing, transportation, energy, HR, office supplies, etc. In each of these subjects, the small biz owners will find information that will help them to identify their problems and practical advice on how to solve them.

This is in a way a "how-to" guide, but it's different and better of many other green guides that are out there. Firstly, it's very practical - when it talks about an issue, such as direct mailing or waste reduction, it provides effective recommendations and tips for successful implementation. Second, it offers simple ways to make the workplace greener, which is especially important for those who are afraid that going green is equivalent to starting a small revolution. Third, it provides great case studies that help to make everything more relevant and realistic by providing examples of small companies that are really taking the steps the book is talking about.

Now, going green is not a guarantee for business prosperity, but it's a part that is becoming more and more essential, especially when it comes to small businesses. Now, given the fact that it's not really that complicated to implement these win-win ideas, I think each and every one of the 26.4 million small businesses in the U.S. should take it into consideration. So if you know anyone who owns or works in one of these businesses, this is definitely the book for them.

Price: $14.36

Disclosure: We received a copy of this book from the publisher.

More on our holidays series:

Green book for parents - The Looking Book
Green book for eco-shoppers - ECOHOLIC

And don't forget that if you're buying a green book, you can even make your gift greener by adding our holidays special offer to it - trees/stickers and a beautiful holidays gift card made of recycled paper. For further information, please go to www.ecolibris.net/holidays.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!