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Mon, 04-26-10 - 6:53pm by Anonymous
Publisher's Wasteland
Recently, I made an upsetting discovery while working as an intern at Penguin Group (the publishing house responsible for those books, which sport that characteristic little penguin icon).
This past Thursday my supervisor asked me if I could assist him in loading books into a huge bin. I asked him where these books were headed as I was used to doing mass mailings of books, not throwing them into a bin before they were properly packaged individually! To my horror, his response was that the books were on their way to the garbage (actually, they were being recycled, if that makes it any better). In my mind, it makes little difference. When I responded with, “I’m sure there are people we could donate these to?” he replied, “But that would hurt sales.”
The popular illusion that holds publishing companies as being somehow more humanitarian than other big-business corporations has been shattered for me. It has been shattered even further considering the next day I was confronted by another huge bin of books being sent to be destroyed, rather than donated. The logic is senseless as the people who would be receiving these book donations are not in the market to buy them.
I was overjoyed that this was the last day of my internship for, had it instead been a full-time job, I would have had serious qualms about working for a company that did this, under any circumstances. Things were made infinitely worse considering that company executives had recently celebrated the company's having gone “green”-- clearly an interesting façade. Here’s a tip on how you can be more environmentally conscious: don’t destroy bins full of perfectly good books.
This past Thursday my supervisor asked me if I could assist him in loading books into a huge bin. I asked him where these books were headed as I was used to doing mass mailings of books, not throwing them into a bin before they were properly packaged individually! To my horror, his response was that the books were on their way to the garbage (actually, they were being recycled, if that makes it any better). In my mind, it makes little difference. When I responded with, “I’m sure there are people we could donate these to?” he replied, “But that would hurt sales.”
The popular illusion that holds publishing companies as being somehow more humanitarian than other big-business corporations has been shattered for me. It has been shattered even further considering the next day I was confronted by another huge bin of books being sent to be destroyed, rather than donated. The logic is senseless as the people who would be receiving these book donations are not in the market to buy them.
I was overjoyed that this was the last day of my internship for, had it instead been a full-time job, I would have had serious qualms about working for a company that did this, under any circumstances. Things were made infinitely worse considering that company executives had recently celebrated the company's having gone “green”-- clearly an interesting façade. Here’s a tip on how you can be more environmentally conscious: don’t destroy bins full of perfectly good books.
1 comment
Thu, 05-06-10 - 07:54 pm by Benji17
Thanks for this. I will
Thanks for this. I will personally never purchase a Penguin book again. You are absolutely right in feeling the way you do. These books should have been donated to a shelter or a library in a poorer area. Good for you for having a conscience!!
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