I have covered this subject before, but it has happened again. We received a request to cancel complimentary subscriptions (sending comp magazines is a normal practice for advertisers and potential advertisers) and the company claims they are “going green.” What is even more funny is that the request was from Club Med, who has developed properties in pristine locations all over the world. One can claim they have disturbed sensitive environments around the world with the development of their resorts. I really don’t have a problem with that, but pretending you are green by suggesting we should not send our magazine is ridiculous.

First of all, paper is very recyclable and probably not as recyclable as the detergents and cleaning solvents the Club Med and other hoteliers use to run their operations. Let’s not forget about the waste these resorts create, often in countries and places where they can hardly deal with the volume.

Again, there has to be a balance. On the Club Med website, one can clearly receive a paper brochure, and I am sure they have solicited some of their clientele with wood pulp-based products.

Green is great, but let’s not use it as an excuse for everything we do (or have done), but for truly green reasons. At GT we do recycle old magazines, papers and whatever we can. Also, we may fly all around the world (and planes have the least effect on the environment than nearly any other form of travel), but all of us at WHQ and in New York drive very little. I put about 10,000 miles a year on my car, far less than the national average.

Pushing the idea of the green initiative further, my favorite, and I have also written about this before, are the magazines that put “Please recycle this magazine” in the masthead. They use the recycle symbol, fooling people to think the magazine is printed on recycled paper — what a scam! Why don’t they use recycled paper? Because it is considerably more expensive.

Green means not wasting, and I think I am a champ at that!

— Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO