Did you know that 25,000 books a day, more than 6 million a year, are destroyed in the UK alone? That around 250,000 tons of books are destroyed annually in the US?
Gazillions of books are destroyed every year
Did you know that 25,000 books a day, more than 6 million a year, are destroyed in the UK alone? That around 250,000 tons of books are destroyed annually in the US? I am talking about the books that were printed but did not get sold. And these are not only books by unknown writers. Many of them are best-sellers too. They get destroyed simply because their sales didn’t meet projections. That is the devastating side effect of using mass production logic to the book publishing business. Did you know that Random House, one of the biggest publishers in the world, owns its own book destruction centre. I am not kidding. We cut down trees (who produce oxygen & soil, who regulate water cycles and the climate, who produce food and harbour biodiversity etc) to conserve this inappropriate degenerative model.
Changing the book production logic
That is the reason why we decided to publish our book through a different model: print-on-demand. So, the book is only printed after it is bought. Of course, you can also buy the e-book which does not need to get printed at all. That is also why we decided to collaborate with Wordzworth. They collaborate with printers in the UK, US and Australia, so the book does not have to make these transcontinental journeys. The downside is that print-on-demand costs more per copy. Selling it via bookshops would lead to a net loss, meaning that we are stuck with the online book retailers. So, while not ideal yet, print-on-demand does offer a whole new model of book production that does not cause mass destruction of unsold books. Frankly, it blows my mind that major book publishers are not working through this model. But well, when they own the book destruction facilities too, why would they?
"NI touches the deepest part of my soul reading about the truth of how Life thrives on planet Earth." Louie Schwartzberg —Award-winning Filmmaker & Director of Fantastic Fungi
Trying to change this destructive logic, we want to go even further. We invest the revenue of the books in trees. Putting current logic on its head because the more books get sold, the more trees we can plant. More trees means more oxygen, soil, food, biodiversity, carbon sequestration etc. So ultimately, what we are aiming for is a new business model for book production. One that promotes restoration instead of destruction. One that makes oxygen. One that promotes biodiversity.
And here is where you can support us. The more books we sell, the more trees we can plant. So, consider gifting this book in the holiday season. Not only did it get great reviews, it also illustrates how we can heal the world by collaborating with the survival champions that know how life works. To quote Nelson Mandela: “It always seems impossible until it is done”.
"This book is a discovery voyage of marvel and hope." Marc Bollen —Innovation Designer TomorrowLab
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