We talk a lot about sustainable fashion, sustainable food, and sustainable energy. But we don't talk nearly enough about books.
Publishing has a significant environmental footprint. And unlike a lot of sustainability conversations, this one has a genuinely simple solution: buy books that already exist.
The hidden cost of a new book
A single paperback novel requires roughly 7.5 kilograms of CO2 to produce. That accounts for the paper (usually sourced from managed forests, but still requiring harvesting, transport, and processing), the printing, the binding, the shipping from printer to warehouse to bookshop, and the energy used at every step.
It also takes about 7 litres of water to produce the paper for one book.
Multiply that by the roughly 200 million books sold in Australia each year, and the numbers start to add up.
To be clear, books are not the biggest environmental problem we face. They're not plastic packaging or fast fashion. But they are a product that people buy, read once, and then leave on a shelf for years. And that's a pattern worth thinking about.
What happens to unsold books?
The publishing industry has a long-standing practice called "pulping." When books don't sell, they're returned to the publisher and destroyed. Estimates suggest that around 25 to 30 percent of all books printed are eventually pulped without ever being read.
That's millions of books each year, printed, shipped, warehoused, and then shredded. All of the environmental cost, none of the benefit.
The circular alternative
Every second-hand book that gets bought is one fewer book that needs to be printed. The environmental cost of reselling an existing book is essentially the shipping, and nothing else. No new paper, no new ink, no new manufacturing.
If even 10 percent of Australian book buyers shifted one purchase per year from new to second-hand, that would save an estimated 15 million kilograms of CO2 annually. The equivalent of taking around 6,500 cars off the road for a year.
It's not going to solve climate change on its own. But it's one of those rare sustainability actions that costs you less, not more.
Quality isn't the issue you think it is
The main objection people have to second-hand books is quality. Nobody wants a book with coffee stains, broken spines, or missing pages.
That's a fair concern, and it's one we take seriously at ReChapter. Every book we sell is individually quality-checked before it goes on sale. We grade each one and only sell books that are in good, readable condition. You'll know exactly what you're getting before you buy.
Most of our books look like they've been read once and put back on the shelf. Because that's exactly what happened.
A book doesn't need to be new to be great
The words inside a second-hand copy of The Midnight Library are identical to the words inside a new one. The story doesn't degrade with use. The characters don't fade. The ending doesn't change.
What does change is the price (about half), the environmental impact (close to zero), and the knowledge that you've given a book a second life instead of sending it to landfill.
We started ReChapter because we believe every book deserves more than one reader. If you believe that too, browse our collection at rechapter.com.au. We ship Australia-wide, and every book has been checked by a real person before it reaches you.