Read Green with Eco-Libris

The push to go green is everywhere, with useful suggestions, such as recycling bins in city parks, to kind of silly ones, like all of those “I’m green!” t-shirts at Target and Wal-Mart. (I always want to ask if they’re printed on organic or renewable cotton.)

I read a lot, as the list of books I’ve read so far this year proves. I tend to buy most of my books used, but the fact remains that I go through a lot of paper in a year. I “recycle” books by swapping on sites like BookMooch and by selling them back to used bookstores. But I’ve found an even better way to go green when it comes to reading. (Thanks to Andi at Estella’s Revenge for the link!)

Eco-Libris helps you balance out your footprint by allowing you to plant trees to match the number of books you read. You donate money, and Eco-Libris works with planting partners to plant your trees. When you donate, you’ll receive sticker bookplates (printed on recycled paper!) to put in your books. And if you recycle your books by swapping or selling, you can spread the word about Eco-Libris!

Their vision:

Let’s start with the bottom line: we believe in providing people with easy and affordable ways to take responsibility for their actions and go green. We don’t believe in preaching doom and gloom. It’s not our style. We do believe in taking action and in the power of small changes to make a big impact.

Payday’s tomorrow, and I’m going to donate. Time to start balancing out my huge list o’ books!