Before Buying Children's Books as Gifts, Read This

Photo: Eliza Snow / Istock

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If you sometimes feel bewildered by the array of choices facing you when tasked with buying a book for a child, here's one way to whittle down the choices: Avoid any published by Disney Publishing Worldwide or HarperCollins.

That's the recommendation of the Rainforest Action Network, which released a new report today linking certain publishers to the use of paper made from trees harvested unsustainably from Indonesian rain forests. Pulp from these sources is cheap, but deforestation – not only for paper-making, but also notably for palm oil plantations and other agriculture – makes Indonesia one of the world's biggest sources of the carbon dioxide pollution fueling climate change. According to Rainforest Action Network:

Indonesia’s rainforests, home to unique species like the orangutan and the Sumatran tiger, are under severe threat from paper companies that rely on clearing rainforests and peatlands for fiber plantations, which supply cheap pulp to their paper mills in China and Indonesia. This controversial paper is then used by Asian printers to manufacture kids’ and other books for U.S. and international markets. The huge carbon footprint from the destruction of Indonesia’s forests and peatlands has made the country the third-largest global greenhouse gas emitter, behind only the U.S. and China.

Some of the most popular titles from those two publishers to avoid include:

"Kids are starting to make holiday wish lists this week. This guide is a tool to help book-loving families avoid kid’s books and publishers that are linked to rainforest destruction," said Lafcadio Cortesi of Rainforest Action Network. "The good news is that many of the country’s largest publishers, seven out of the eleven in our survey, are taking decisive action to help protect Indonesia’s critically endangered rainforests."

The Rainforest Action Network recommends buying from these publishers that have committed to phasing out the use of paper fiber from Indonesian rain forests. Some of their most popular titles include:

Find more recommended titles at ran.org/readinglist.

These recommended publishers are, according to the Rainforest Action Network, "encouraging Indonesian pulp and paper companies to transition their practices away from a business model that often relies on evicting communities, clear cutting rainforests, and draining carbon rich peatlands to replace them with plantations. These leading publishers are signaling support for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation."

If sustainably sourced paper fiber interests you, check out Ecolibris, which has, through it's Green Books Campaign, promoted the use of recycled or FSC-certified paper.

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