Back in 2004, unwanted Christmas presents were estimated at around ?1.3bn. In the worst case scenario, they would go straight to landfills adding to the enormous amount of waste we already generate. In the best case scenario, those gifts will be returned, sold on or end up in Charity shops.   This Christmas will with no doubt be no different. So why not choose a present that can really make a difference. This holiday season, By Nature is launching a new range of Charity gifts. From UK Wildlife to Water Gardens in Bangladesh, there is something for everyone.

In association with Practical Action , By Nature offers a range of gifts designed to help support Practical Action?s work around the world. Founded over 40 years ago by Dr EF Schumacher, Practical Action is a charity which works with poor communities around the world with local people, building on their skills to create simple, workable, long-term answers to poverty. Practical Action has a unique approach to development ? they don't start with technology, but with people. The tools may be simple or sophisticated ? but to provide long-term, appropriate and practical answers, they must be firmly in the hands of local people: people who shape technology and control it for themselves. All the gifts presented are part of Practical Action?s current projects.

Eco-Libris blog reviews the big news from Simon & Schuster, one of the biggest publishing houses in the world, which announced on a new environmental initiative and paper policy.

The big news of this week came from Simon & Schuster (S&S), one of the big four publishing firms in the world (the Big Four) and a home to writers such as Stephen King, David McCullough, Ursula Hegi and Bob Woodward.

Associated Press reported last Thursday that Simon & Schuster announced on a new environmental initiative and paper policy that will dramatically increase the amount of recycled fiber in the paper used to manufacture its books.

The new policy includes the following goals:

1. For books printed and bound in the U.S. - an incrementally increase of the use of recycled fiber from its current 10% baseline level to a 25% or greater aggregate level by 2012.

2. Simon & Schuster will endeavor to have at least 10% of its paper Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified by 2012.

3. For books printed and bound in the United States, Simon & Schuster will endeavor to eliminate the use of paper that may contain fiber from endangered and old-growth forest areas.

4. By the end of 2007 and going forward, all Simon & Schuster shipping cartons will be made exclusively from 100% recycled post-consumer waste, subject to availability.

Firstly, this is good news for the environment - S&S purchases approximately 70,000 tons of paper annually. So at current production levels, the shift to 25 percent recycled fiber will result in saving approximately 483,000 trees annually and reducing greenhouse gases by nearly 85 million pounds!

This is also good news to all the book publishing industry because I believe this step will have further consequences. Such a step will certainly influence other publishers, especially the big ones that won't like to stay behind S&S. I am quite sure that the news from S&S gave the usage of recycled paper and other eco-friendly practices a much higher place than it used to have on the to-do list of many publishers.

Simon & Schuster developed its policy and will implement it with the help of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit organization, which is currently one of the most significant forces that work to move the book industry toward working in an eco-friendlier manner.

Now, I congratulate S&S for their big step, but I was wondering why it didn't go a little bit further and at least matched its goals with the Green Press Initiative's Industry Treatise. This treatise (Book Industry Treatise on Responsible Paper), already been adopted by more than 140 publishers.

Especially I'm referring to the treatise goal of "shifting the book industry's collective average use of recycled fiber from an estimated 5% recycled average at present to a 30% recycled industry average by 2012. " S&S said it will move to 25% by 2012 (or greater aggregate, which is a bit vague). The difference of 5% might sounds marginal, but we're talking here about almost 100,000 trees a year!

And just to remind you, we have already one of the Big Four that is committed to a goal of 30% recycled paper -Random House announced last year it will incrementally increase the recycled paper content of its books to 30% by 2010.

I also hope to see Simon & Schuster going further and take responsibility for all the trees cut down to supply their paper that is not sourced out of recycled paper or certified forests (FSC). Even on 2012, it will total to more than 1.5 million trees a year! Eco-Libris will certainly be willing to help here.

All in all, it's a great day to all the eco-conscious book lovers out there, and I look forward to reading more news from the book industry that will start like this : "Simon & Schuster, Inc., and its employees are committed to publishing in a manner that both respects the environment and helps to preserve the world?s great forest regions for the use and pleasure of future generations. "

You might think that your real Christmas tree is the green alternative to an artificial one,  and you are certainly correct.  A real Christmas tree absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere whilst growing and when Christmas is over and you?ve recycled it, it can have a second life as compost or as chipped wood mulch for the garden.

However, in the UK many Christmas tree retailers import their trees all the way from Scandinavia,  what this means is that the carbon miles associated with the transport of your Christmas trees totally undermines the environmental advantage of having a real tree!

The British Christmas Tree Growers Association is the trade association for companies that grow their trees in the UK and their website holds details of all of its members. A quick look and you can see if there is a member retailer near to you.  A retailer that is a member of BCTGA will sell trees that are grown in the UK - and it will also be likely that their trees were locally grown.  Membership will also offer an assurance that the trees are of a high quality and freshness.  It means that short of growing your own Christmas tree in your back garden, you won?t get one any more green that that.