Three ways to limit the ecological impact of the book industry

Why are we talking about the ecological impact of books?

Since October 26, the fall literary prize season has been in full swing: Académie française, Femina, Médicis, Goncourt, Renaudot. These meetings help boost book sales. To the delight of booksellers and publishers, because the few bestsellers of the year bring the entire sector to life. In 2022, 448.5 million new books were sold in France. It remains to be seen what to do with all these works after reading them.

If your shelves are overflowing, why not make them available to other readers, through donations or resales? And why not also favor second-hand purchases? A happy alliance of solidarity, knowledge sharing and ecological concern. If, in recent years, book professionals have set to work to green the production chain, we, simple readers, have a role to play in limiting the impact of this industry on biodiversity and the climate. Thus, theBuying a used book generates 3.5 times less greenhouse gases than buying a new book.

Sources: Ademe (Environment and Energy Management Agency) and La Bourse aux Livres.