Paper Cut

I am all for saving the environment. I recycle. I don't drive a car. I even worked at an eco-friendly store. But that doesn't mean I want all magazines to stop being printed on paper.

Digital magazine vendor Zinio has launched a new campaign GoReadGreen.com aiming to make people aware of the environmental reasons for subscribing to online magazines. The site distributes over 1,000 digital magazines from more than 200 publishers, including Hachette, Wenner Media and Reader's Digest, that have agreed to offer 50 million free digital magazine subscriptions (one per person) to build awareness for this new publishing frontier. Of course, it doesn't hurt that this move will also cut costs for the fledgling industry, which reports that 70 percent of printed magazines die at the newsstand.

Zinio says a portion of the proceeds from the campaign will go to purchasing “eco unit credits” and “more trees.” A $400 color reader, thinner than many print magazines, is also anticipated to come in the coming months.

I am all for receiving news and articles in a digital format, but when it comes to photo editorials, that will always be best on a tangible page held in one's hands. Of course, I'm not one to pass up a free deal either, especially one that benefits the environment.

An interesting note: David H. Gilmour, who purchased Zinio last year, is also the founder of Fiji water. And we all know how environmentally-friendly bottled water is.