Every time I receive my copy of
National Geographic Traveller, I do it with a pang of guilt! What do I do with that thin wrapper? Is it degradable?
I know it provides safe shipping and prevents damage due to fingering. I even wrote a letter to Nat Geo about
replacing this with a paper flap, which they promptly published in the magazine
but that issue still came with the same wrapper.
I did some reading to understand
what is used for the wrapper. The perfect product is
Cellophane which is regenerated cellulose and can be degraded. But good things don’t come cheap! So, the cheaper alternate is BOPP (Biaxially
Oriented Poly Propylene). And BOPP can
at the best be recycled. Given the
flimsy thickness of these wrappers, it is unlikely to be profitable to the rag
picker or recycler. My guess is that it
ends in the land fill. And my guess is also that BOPP is what is used by most
magazine publishers and not cellophane.
Can publishers look at some other
options? A thick paper flap that seals
the front page to back page should work well.
A paper envelope should again work well for shipping though it may take
away the look.
Will the publishing Industry
choose ‘Substance over Form’?
Awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteTill august 2014 we got our copies of national geographic in brown envelopes ( which I used to flip over n cover my novels n kids' story books - a childhood habit). But the Sept issue has come in silver color plastic cover. Guess economics is taking precedence at Nat Geo!
ReplyDeleteWell it depends on whether the subscribers are willing to pay for the extra cost of paper.
ReplyDelete