Can Harry Potter save ancient forests?

Feature story - 24 February, 2005
Latest Update - UK Harry Potter publisher takes first step towards greener paper!

Hedwig the Owl visits Bloomsbury in London to ask them to print the next Harry Potter on 100% ancient forest friendly paper.

Harry Potter, boy wizard extraordinaire, survived an attack from the most evil wizard of all time.  He has outwitted the terrifying Death Eaters. He has turned invisible - much to the annoyance of his teachers. 

He is a regular David Beckham at Quidditch - the magical version of World Cup football. But now he faces his greatest challenge yet.

Can he save our ancient forests?

In case you've been living in a cave, you should know that Harry Potteris popular. Make that extremely, wildly, undeniably popular. The nextHarry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is beingeagerly awaited by children (and, ahem, some adults) and will bereleased in July 2005 in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,and South Africa.

As you can imagine, any print run as huge as Harry Potter can usethousands of trees, millions of litres of water, and enough electricityto power an ordinary, non-magical home for hundreds of years. However,printing on 100 percent ancient forest friendly paperprotects ancient forests, and the muggle (that's "non-magical" for theuninitiated) creatures which depend on them. Ancient forest friendlypaper can also reduce the use of water and electricity, as well as theamount of waste produced in the printing process.

Wevisited the headquarters of Harry Potter's publisher Bloomsbury withHedwig, Harry Potter's owl to ask them 'Get Wise!' and print the nextHarry Potter "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", due out thissummer, on 100 percent ancient forest friendly paper.

We welcomed thesubsequent statement by J.K. Rowling's publisher Bloomsbury, clarifyingthat they will improve the environmental qualities of the next HarryPotter book by printing it on partly ancient forest friendly paper.This will be the first best selling book in the UK to be printed onsuch a paper.

Bloomsbury's publicity manager, Katie Bond, has confirmed to us thatthe company has ordered a paper containing 30 percent ForestStewardship Council certified wood pulp for the printing of "HarryPotter and the Half-Blood Prince".

This is a positive first step.

Butwe will continue to toil over our cauldrons to encourage Bloomsbury totake the big leap for ancient forests and print the paperback editionof 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,' and all their othertitles, on 100 percent ancient forest friendly paper.

Similarinitiatives have successfully led to millions of books being printed onancient forest friendly paper internationally - including the Canadianedition of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' which wasprinted on 100 percent post consumer waste paper by Raincoast Books.

We have been working with authors, including J.K. Rowling, andpublishers to encourage the industry to stop sourcing paper fromancient forest regions and instead to move towards ancient forestfriendly paper. We still need you to help work some magic below bypressuring the US publisher of Harry Potter to follow the good exampleset by other publishers.

Work some magic!

Send your own virtual Hedwigto ask the US publisher of Harry Potter to confirm that they are going100 percent ancient forest friendly with the next Harry Potter.

Spreadthe magic - send an owler to your friends to help convince the USpublisher of Harry Potter to go ancient forest friendly.

More information

Read more about the Greenpeace Book Campaign.

Brush up on your Harry Potter vocabulary

Become an online activist

Use your magic powers to help protect ancient forest by becoming an online activist.