Bookstores Find Many Reasons to Go 'Green'

With no shortage of eco-friendly titles, booksellers are expanding their Environmental Sections, creating entirely new "green" sections, and offering tie-in events and sidelines to meet increasing customer interest. Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, California, has featured a permanent section called Living Green, a mix of books and sidelines, since the fall of 2007, and Changing Hands in Tempe, Arizona, is emphasizing a "Go Green" theme via events throughout January and the rest of 2008.

Vroman's general manager Allison Hill said the store's Living Green section is somewhat like a permanent display, with lots of face-out titles and sidelines. Going into the holiday, the sidelines were mostly gift items, including purses made with recycled materials from the L.A. Times; bracelets; made from bicycle parts; and artisanal paper "made from Elephant poo!"

Hill explained that after ordering the latter, she wondered, "Have we lost our minds?" However, as promised, the product was odorless, and packaging was gorgeous. "We bought a small order and sold out immediately," she said. "We kept doubling our order and sold out three times."

Now that the holidays are over, Hill said Vroman's will be expanding the sections' sidelines. "We're looking at rechargeable batteries, solar product. We were gift oriented going into the holidays, but now we'd like to expand into day-to-day items."

To prepare for Earth Day, April 22, Hill said Vroman's would be expanding the Green Living section further as well as holding several green events. "We'll invite a panel of experts to discuss what people can do to make a difference in their own homes," she said. The panel will also cover green changes Vroman's has made within the store, which customers might consider recreating in their homes.

Flyer announcing the fashion show.

Changing Hands in Tempe, Arizona, dedicated January and all of 2008 to going green. While the store doesn't have a separate section for green titles, general manager Cindy Dach, said these books are represented in their Social Issues section. The bookstore has been hosting green events throughout the month, including a daylong green fest on a recent Saturday with children's events during the day and a "Go Fashionably Green Fashion Show" after hours. "January is usually slow," said Dach. "So it happens to work out well to try some new things."

The children's programs included a visit by illustrator Amanda Shepherd (Rules of the Wild, Chronicle, Fiona Loves the Night, Joanna Cotler) who led an anti-pollution poster-making contest, and a visit from amphibian friends from the Phoenix Zoo, with a zoo representative who underscored simple green actions that can help ensure the survival of many different species.

Dach said that attending a Dale Dauten (The Max Strategy, William Morrow) seminar got her thinking about the bookstore in different ways, including holding after hours events. She was initially skeptical when PR coordinator Holly Nelson suggested a fashion show, but Nelson said, "Are DIY books not books? Are fashion books not books?" The event was introduced with a "Go Green Booklist," including the titles Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, Marlowe & Company; ReadyMade: How to Make (Almost) Anything (editors of ReadyMade magazine); and ecoDesign: The Sourcebook (Alastair Fuad-Luke, Chronicle), and was held in partnership with a locally owned boutique, that celebrated sustainable, recycled and organic fashion.

Model Sabra Hightower in a dress by Armour Sans Anguish.

The show, a free event, drew about 175 people, said Dach. "It was a whole hip club scene here. It was a lot like a gallery opening. And the best part was that most of the people I'd never seen in here before." While she didn't see the kind of lines at the cash register she would ordinarily expect for that sort of turnout, she did see people buying armloads of books, and she talked with a number of 20-somethings who discovered that the bookstore was "not a scary place." Changing Hands offered "eco-tinis" and vegetarian tastings.

Vroman's Hill was emphatic about the multiple benefits of adding a green section and events to a bookstore. Having such a section, display, or events, she said demonstrates Vroman's mission: "Achieving the balance between good business and doing good work in the world. There's no doubt that it's helping educate our customers to make a difference in the world, and at the same time, it was absolutely great for our holiday season." --Karen Schechner