NEW: Eco-Friendly Handmade Books

by Susan Green November 06, 2018

Eco-friendly sketchbooks and journals bound with recycled, renewable or sustainable natural materials.

Updated October 2019 with new A6 Cork Journals!

I've been using a pretty plant-based alternative to leather that supports biodiversity, and a luxurious handmade paper produced from fashion industry waste. And with those, I'm launching my new collection of Eco-Friendly Sketchbooks and Journals.  Here's the story...

Ethical choices at home and in the studio

This year has seen me on a mission to make more eco-friendly product choices. At home we've ditched the plastic-cartoned supermarket milk in favour of local, organic milk delivered to our doorstop in re-usable glass bottles (you know, like in the old days). We've ordered loo roll from Who Gives A Crap and we've favoured bamboo items over plastic.

When supplies have run low in the studio, I've ordered eco-friendly replacements. My business cards are now 100% recycled cotton that reuse fashion industry waste. Linen thread and Mini Journals are now delivered in recycled and recyclable 'Jiffy Green' padded bags. You might have received a larger order packaged in a biodegradable plastic post bag, secured with bright green recycled plastic tape.

To be honest, I'm not sure about that biodegradable plastic (under what conditions does it biodegrade, and are those conditions ever met in normal circumstances), so I'll carry on looking for the most sustainable options. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share in the comments. 

Natural Materials

I already favour natural materials, which goes some way to making my material choices eco-friendly.

Linen - from the flax plant - is one of the most environmentally sustainable fibres and all my books are bound in linen thread. I've introduced unbleached woven linen ribbons to some of my books, too. Every single part of the flax plant is used, so there's no waste. And when grown in its natural environment (mostly Europe), flax doesn't require irrigation or fertilisation and is grown organically without pesticides.

Some time ago I switched my 'standard' paper for Journals and Guest Books to Mohawk Superfine; it's got several eco-credentials FSC certification and is manufactured by non-polluting green electricity produced by windpower. 

So far, so good. But I wanted to find more eco-friendly materials. And they had to meet my usual criteria: tactile, finest quality and fit for purpose. I was really pleased to discover two new materials that are eco-friendly, pleasurable to handle and durable, too. 

COTTON RAG PAPER

This beautiful paper is made from off-cuts of t-shirt material which would otherwise have gone to landfill as waste from the fashion textile industry. Recycled cotton makes fantastic paper; it's long fibre, strong and incredibly tactile. Because it's made by hand, its genuine deckle edges confer a truly authentic handmade look and feel to the books, and its natural surface variations and texture give an extra dimension to watercolours and calligraphy. I've made two new styles of books with the cotton rag paper; Japanese Stab Stitch Sketchbooks and Wabi Sabi Sketchbooks. 

JAPANESE STAB STITCH SKETCHBOOKS

I've been teaching a Japanese Stab Stitch bookbinding course this autumn and had made quite a few samples to show my students. But it wasn't until discovering the cotton rag paper that I decided to bind a Stab Stitch collection to offer my customers. The textured, 210gsm medium-rough paper is ideal for watercolour and ink and they're a good size (A5) to tuck into a bag if you're painting on your travels.  

The 'blues' set (the Hemp Leaf Sketchbook is missing as it sold out before I had a chance to upload this blog post!).

There's more information about the Japanese Stab Stitch books in this blog post and you can buy them here. 

WABI SABI SKETCHBOOKS

Bound with a smooth version of the same eco-friendly 210gsm cotton rag paper, these new Wabi Sabi Sketchbooks are really exciting. They turn 360 degrees into a full circle, but also lie completely flat on a table. With exposed spine stitching in white linen thread, they're held closed with an unbleached woven linen ribbon. 

Wabi Sabi Sketchbooks turn 360 degrees in a full circle - fold back in the hand for easy use, and to display your artwork in a standing book.

Unadorned and uncovered, these Sketchbooks evoke a sense of calm simplicity and, thanks to the natural variations of handmade paper, express the Wabi Sabi aesthetic; "beauty that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete". You can buy Wabi Sabi Sketchbooks here, and keep a look out for the full story about what inspired me to make them, coming soon. 

CORK TEXTILE

Eco-friendly, tactile and beautiful, cork ticks all the boxes! Cork textile is produced from the bark of the Cork Oak tree, forests of which are found in Portugal and Mediterranean countries. Protected by law for their contribution to the ecosystem, cork forests promote biodiversity and prevent desertification. Harvesting of the bark takes place in a sustainable manner, after which the trees are left to rest and regenerate. 

Cork Oaks after harvesting, Alessandro Vecchi 2012. Bosco di querce da sughero dopo l'estrazione nei pressi di Tempio Pausania, Sardegna. Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Cork makes for a brilliant 'faux leather'. It shares some of the same useful properties of leather (durable, tactile, water-resistant) but it's entirely plant-based and is naturally renewable. And unlike many faux leathers, which are petroleum-laden synthetics, it's eco-friendly, too. Win, win, win!

CORK MINI JOURNALS 

Slipped into a Christmas stocking, a homemade cracker or given at the obligatory office Secret Santa, Mini Journals have been popular little gifts ever since I introduced them for Christmas back in 2008. They've always received rave reviews and I'm always pleased as punch when my customers get in touch to share how they use them; from writing down passwords (keep your Mini in a safe place!) or meditation prompts, to carrying them around in a pocket for impromptu mini sketches.

"These Cork Minis are just darling! The size is even skinny jeans pocket friendly so I can take it with me wherever I go, and use it whenever inspiration strikes." Erica, Poland.

Cork Mini Journals: Rose Gold & Natural 

A6 CORK JOURNALS

These are A6 size with 192 pages of windpower-manufactured Mohawk Superfine paper which is a dream to write on. The Longstitch binding means the pages lay flat so you can write up to the edge. Because they're stitched in linen thread - rather than glued - you don't have to worry about the notebook falling apart with regular use (the magic of handmade over mass-produced).

Shop the new collection

I hope this blog post and the new collection solves a few sustainable gift-giving dilemmas. Shop the books by using the buttons below or click here to view further details and purchase.

And scroll down for some useful links about the eco-friendly materials and products mentioned in this blog post.

Susan Green
info@boundbyhand.co.uk
+44 (0)7748 759 371

Links

Linen - the original sustainable material, V&A accessed 29.10.18

Environmental footprint of different textiles and comparison of cotton and linen (flax) fabric. Dr Adrian Chapman, October 2010. Envormation, accessed 29.10.18 (linen is included within 'natural bast fibres')

The True Cost film - who pays the price for our fashion industry? 

Who Gives A Crap - eco-friendly loo roll, 50% of profits donated to help build toilets in developing countries.

Find Me A Milkman - scroll through the search results to find local, independent dairies rather than opting for the ubiquitous Milk & More, which is owned by multinational corporation Müller. 

Moo recycled business cards - tactile and eco-friendly, it's no wonder I love them!

Eco-Craft - eco-friendly post & packaging supplies ideal for creative small business owners

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