WASHINGTON, D.C.///January 31, 2012/// Aveda and Green America honored the top leaders in sustainable magazine publishing by announcing the Winner, Runner Up and Finalist of 2012 Aveda Environmental Award for Magazines.

Dirt Rag, a leading mountain bike magazine, was the Aveda Environmental Award Winner; Greenability, Kansas City’s green living magazine, was the Runner Up; and GRIT, America’s rural lifestyle magazine, was the Finalist. All three magazines demonstrate industry leadership on environmental publishing practices.

The awards from Aveda, a pioneer in corporate environmental sustainability and responsibility, recognize environmental leadership and achievement in the magazine industry through use of environmentally responsible paper and production practices.

Dirt Rag Publisher, Maurice Tierney, said: “Because our staff and readers are avid mountain bikers and spend a lot of time outdoors, we treasure the environment and do what we can to minimize our footprint. As a natural extension of this, the staff is proud to use 90 percent recycled, Forest Stewardship Council Certified and Process Chlorine Free paper in Dirt Rag.” Tierney added, “It’s as simple as walking the walk.”

Julie Koppen, publisher of Greenability, commented: “Greenability’s mission is to showcase the efforts Kansas City is making to be a more sustainable metropolitan area. We hope to be an example by upholding the highest standards for a printed magazine. So, our use of recycled and Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper is one example of how we can reduce our own use of natural resources.”

GRIT Publisher and Editorial Director, Bryan Welch, said: “We take considerable pride in using recycled-content paper to lessen GRIT magazine’s environmental impact. This decision goes hand-in-hand with our long history – dating back to the late 1800s – of being good stewards of the land. We hope that this will lead to greater environmental practices by others in the magazine industry, too!”

Green America’s Better Paper Project Director Frank Locantore said: “Despite the rise of the digital age, the world is using more paper than ever before. Dirt Rag, Greenability and GRIT are all shining examples of how we can make print more sustainable. They truly stand out in the magazine industry, where only about 2% of U.S. publications regularly use recycled paper.”

“True to our mission to care for the world we live in, Aveda encourages all the publishers we advertise with to adopt environmentally responsible paper and production practices,” said Rachael Ostrom, executive director of consumer engagement for Aveda. “We have been delighted to work with Green America to promote sustainable publishing by sponsoring the Aveda Environmental Award since 2005.”

How much is at stake if magazines get greener? If the entire North American magazine industry included a minimum of 30 percent post-consumer recycled paper in their publications, it would save approximately:

– 1.5 million tons of wood, or the equivalent of 10 million trees;
– 6.6 million BTU’s of energy, or the equivalent of heating 73 thousand homes;
– 1.8 billion pounds of CO2 emissions, or the equivalent of taking 160 thousand cars off the road;
– 7 billion gallons of wastewater, or the equivalent of 5 thousand swimming pools;
– And 780 million pounds of solid waste, or the equivalent to 28 thousand garbage trucks.

For a more comprehensive list of magazines using recycled paper and sustainable production processes visit Green America’s Better Paper Project website: http://betterpaper.ning.com/page/better-papers-better-magazine

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