Question:
How does one reconcile a passion for environmental responsibility with a love of working with paper – an awful lot of paper?
Answer:
It’s tricky, and it’s a work in progress.
Not even the half of it…
Music preparation for recording sessions in particular requires high quality paper that is used, in most cases, only once. For blockbuster films, the volume of paper is vast.
Paper manufacturers that make this level of high quality, heavy paper demand a premium price for their premium product, and often recycled or more sustainable paper is more expensive than less sustainable alternatives. The reasons behind this are clear (a more rigorous, exclusive process involves either more person-power, equipment, processes, or all three) but it’s still a shame. There shouldn’t be a financial incentive to be less environmentally-friendly!
So is it possible to have the paper, printers, and binding materials suitable for recording sessions that doesn’t cost the earth – in both senses of the phrase?
This is what I am committed to investigating through this Green Copyist blog and my copying work.
As I test out new products, I will add reviews to the blog, in addition to regular updates where I can sing the praises of the products that I love enough to have made them a permanent fixture, and discuss other aspects of sustainability that impact both my work as a copyist and my life as a citizen of the world, and the UK in particular.
The Green Copyist is run by Lillie Harris, a composer, copyist, and technical writer based in London. You can get in touch with Lillie on the Contact page, and find out more about her work on her website.
The Green Copyist 