Going Green for the Next Generation?
Independent publisher Barefoot Books takes a new approach

Cambridge, MA June 2007 – Award-winning, independent children's publisher Barefoot Books has taken active steps to promote global conservation and reduce the impact of climate change on the lives of children. By making changes in its office culture, and breathing new life into its environmental content, the company is highlighting the need for a change of values within its unique grassroots community of business partners, educators, parents, and retailers, extending the message of Live Earth and the Alliance for Climate Protection and empowering children to make a difference. Nancy Traversy, co-founder and CEO, comments:

"We founded Barefoot Books as working mothers with a particular interest in the kind of world our children will inherit. We soon found ourselves operating in an industry which was staggeringly wasteful, not only in terms of the paper used to make the books, but also due to the fuel and cardboard used to transport these books to and from suppliers. A returnable business model means that books often move from the publisher to the distributor and then back again and more often than not this results in damaged product which can't be sold. At Barefoot, we have adopted a more grassroots, communal approach to marketing our books, avoiding the wasteful practices of the bigger distributors and choosing instead to work with a broad network of independent retailers, educators and other partners, including our rapidly growing community of home-sellers, now more than 1000 strong.

Internally, changes we have made include printing our books and marketing material on recycled or ancient-forest friendly paper; requiring our suppliers to provide environmental audits; minimizing paper usage; introducing low-energy lighting; encouraging low-impact transport; and supporting local community activities. This spring we published a new book and CD combo which celebrates the values we seek to promote. Whole World is a playful adaptation of the famous spiritual song which we have turned into a clarion call for social responsibility. The book includes simple eco-tips for young readers and the chorus, "We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands," focused our minds on what we can do to raise awareness about climate change within our community.

We decided that there is power in numbers, so we have joined forces with a number of eco-partners, including US based Kiwi Magazine, committed to promoting a natural, organic way of life for families; The Green Parent, the UK's leading green lifestyle magazine; and Roots and Shoots, an international program of the Jane Goodall foundation dedicated to making positive change happen for our communities, for animals and for the environment. Together with these partners, we have developed interactive Go Barefoot, Go Global web content for parents, teachers, and kids as an extension of Barefoot's over-arching goals of living green and celebrating diversity.

And, through an innovative e-card campaign developed from content in Whole World, we are encouraging our extensive international network of retailers, consumers, educators and home-sellers to hold events in support of "Friends of Live Earth" on 7.7.07 and engage their communities in this urgent cause. We are also donating a percentage of proceeds from sales of Whole World to a number of environmental organizations committed to global conservation."

Company Background

Please contact Jeanne Nicholson for further information, samples, or to set up an interview with Barefoot CEO, Nancy Traversy.