Sustainability in Publishing: Reducing Waste One Print Book at a Time

In this episode, Matt & Lauren take a critical look at wasteful practices in the publishing industry. We share insight into what it takes to become a certified B Corp (like Lulu!), how book printing creates both physical and carbon waste, and what we can all do to make publishing more sustainable. 

Dive Deeper

💡 Resources

      →  Research: Consumers’ Sustainability Demands Are Rising 

      →  B Lab US & Canada

      →  Book Sales: What that viral Substack post gets wrong.

      →  No One Buys Books

      →  Book Waste: The Dangers of Publishing and the Ethical Consumption of Books

💡 Listen to These Episodes

      →  Ep #9 | Are Print Books Dead?

      →  Ep #36 | The Indie Author’s Guide to Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing

      →  Ep #49 | What Keeps Self-Published Books Off the New York Times Best-Seller Lists?

💡 Watch These Videos

      →  Why is Lulu a B Corp?

      →  The Life of a Book 

💡 Read What Being a B Corp Means to Us

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [9:52] “We're making the argument that print-on-demand and using a print-on-demand company like Lulu is more environmentally friendly than traditional publishing. But B Corp isn't just about that.”

🎙️ [22:40] “I would much rather see a book that was well read and well loved and shows the signs of it than a book that was printed, never opened, never sold, and then just destroyed.”

🎙️ [32:45] “I think when you combine the world of digital and print and you encourage a digital-first strategy for how you're publishing and printing, I think that's when you really start to optimize the sustainability factor of what we're doing in the publishing industry.”

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