Most of us have been guilty of it at some point or another: scanning our friends' libraries trying to uncover clues to their true nature. But tracks and titles alone won’t tell you how green they might be.
Now, two new websites let you express your greenness while expanding your collection of books and music. Eco-libris, based in California, allows bibliophiles to plant a tree for each book they read. Founder Raz Godelnik explains, “the idea behind Eco-libris is to enable book lovers and readers to take action and to make their reading habits more sustainable.” For $5, you can offset 5 books and plant 5 trees in a developing country.
Tunes for Trees is a similar concept but for music lovers. Started by Live It Green, a Chicago-based company, Tunes for Trees has partnered with iTunes to plant 1 tree for every 10 tracks purchased through the site. The cost of each song is the same, and you needn’t buy 10 to get started. Every track purchased counts towards planting a tree. It’s a simple idea, according to Hans Fedderke, founder of Tunes for Trees. “You’re already online buying music, why not do some good?”
Both Tunes for Trees and Eco-libris took care in selecting their tree-planting partners. Fedderke, whose site works with Trees for the Future, says the group was chosen because of its history and credibility. Eco-libris, according to Godelnik, used a screening process headed by environmental experts to select its three partners. Organizations had to guarantee that the trees would benefit local communities as well as the environment. “We wanted to know that the right species were being planted in the right places,” Godelnik says.
To learn more about Tunes for Trees and Eco-libris, visit their websites. You can also read about their partner organizations: Trees for the Future, the Alliance for International Reforestation, Sustainable Harvest, and Ripple Africa.
1 comment:
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