Joel Silver, Chief Merchant with Indigo Books & Music, spearheaded an initiative that results with Indigo becoming the first international retailer to display the environmental performance of books that it supplies on store shelves.
Indigo Books & Music began working with Vancouver-based Canopy a few years ago to develop a more environmentally progressive supply policy, which greatly affects book manufacturers because of Indigo’s dominance in Canada’s retail sector with its Indigo and Chapters stores. In its last fiscal year, the company generated over $875 million in revenues.
Now, Indigo customers are able to see which books are printed on papers containing recycled and/or Forest Stewardship Council fibre. Customers can check up on a book’s green condition by logging onto Indigo’s Website or by accessing in-store kiosks. In its latest quarter alone (ended in September, before the Christmas rush), Indigo’s online channel accounted for sales of $20 million.
According to Canopy, Indigo is the first book retailer in the world to take this step. Canopy, the NGO that played a large role in the greening of the Harry Potter series, suggests Indigo’s new model and targets can potentially result in as much as a 50-percent reduction in virgin wood content in books.
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