Friday, December 11, 2009

Why Won't Borders Donate Their Soon-To-Be-Trashed Books?

The Huffington Post, 12-11-09

   
   

Last month, corporate parent Borders announced they will soon be closing 200 Waldenbooks book stores in communities nationwide. Current Waldenbooks employees have come forward to alert the public that the company plans to dispose of many unsold books in the cheapest, easiest, least responsible way possible – by trashing them.

"This is going to be happening in all the Waldenbooks stores at the end of their liquidation sales to anything left on the shelves," said Heather L., a Waldenbooks employee. "And it gives us all stomach aches to think about."



In response, these employees have helped organize a Facebook campaign asking Borders to work with publishers to find a way to donate any unsold books to libraries or other nonprofits instead of destroying them. More than 1,500 Borders customers & employees, public library supporters, and other book lovers have signed on so far to protest this colossal impending waste of unsold books.



The Waldenbooks locations are scheduled to close their doors in January, 2010. Meanwhile, libraries and nonprofits around the country have been hit hard by the Great Recession. Library branches are serving more and more people in the face of budget cuts. Nonprofits are struggling with decreased government and corporate funding and shrinking private donations.

There is enormous need right now for any kind of helping hand extended to charitable causes. And news of Borders' plans to destroy unsold books after its Waldenbooks liquidation sales has touched a nerve.



"Holy cow!! So many reasons that this is INSANE!," said Donna Higdon Hollenbeck of Montgomery, AL. "So many worthy places these books could go to. Come on and be reasonable." "This is a perfect example of the waste overwhelming our civilization," observed Myke Yeskewicz of Providence, RI. "I'm willing to cut my Borders Reward card in half if this is done," said Del Snow of Chapel Hill, NC.

Former Waldenbooks employees say they have previously witnessed and participated in the destruction of unsold books. "I used to work at a Waldenbooks and we would trash books, tons of books, like every two weeks," said Brooke Bennett, a former employee from Little Rock, AR. "It just killed me."

Known in the bookselling industry as "dumpstering," this method of book disposal is standard practice not only at Borders-owned stores, but at many other chain book stores and mass retailers.

"I work at a drugstore in New Hampshire where they do this all the time as well, 100's of books get tossed, it's crazy," said James C. "Ever wonder what they do with all those paperback novels that disappear from the shelves?" asked Cory Wilson of Huntington, WV. "Covers get ripped off and the text goes into the dumpster." "This is totally true," said Mary P. "I used to work at Walmart and they would tear off the front cover and throw the rest in the compactor."

Occasionally this practice makes headlines. Over the past few years, local TV stations have reported on dumpsters full of trashed books behind places like a Barnes & Noble in Dallas, and a B. Dalton Bookseller closing down in Ohio.


Dumpstered books behind Dallas Barnes & Noble, 2007

Yet there is surprisingly little consumer awareness of how the publishing industry's outdated business model results in unsold books literally being thrown away. Dumpstering happens every day in large chain book stores. But how many customers and citizens know the truth?

"One of the ways this effort is already making a difference is by spreading awareness," said Waldenbooks employee Heather L., who is one of the Facebook campaign's co-organizers. "If we are serious about living green, we need to pressure companies like Borders to change their ways."

So far, Borders' responses to consumers who have e-mailed in protest show they are unwilling to own up to their wasteful business practices.

"We do not expect to have any remaining product to donate once we complete clearance sales at the 200 Waldenbooks stores," reads one canned response from Borders Customer Care. "We sincerely expect to have virtually no product left - our goal is to sell everything. Therefore, we do not expect to have product to donate or to dispose of."



Not a mention of what current and former employees agree is standard operating procedure for Borders, Waldenbooks and other chain book stores. Dumpstering is a dirty little secret of the bookselling and publishing industries.

One concerned Borders customer e-mailed CFO Mark Bierley, only to learn he'd deleted her e-mail unread! Georgia resident Denise C. says she "used microsoft outlook to send the email and it gives you the option to have a delivery request sent and a read receipt." Here’s the reply she received:

>>Your message

To: Mary Davis (Corporate Affairs); Ron Marshall (BGI); Mark Bierley (Finance)
Cc:
Subject: DON'T THROW AWAY THE BOOKS
Sent: Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:46:32 -0500

was deleted without being read on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:53:12 –0500<<

Borders corporate headquarters in Ann Arbor, MI

If you'd like to let Borders executives know how you feel about this issue, you can e-mail CEO Ron Marshall - rmarshall@bordersgroupinc.com. Or CFO Mark Bierley - mbierley@bordersgroupinc.com (try the subject line, "Why Are You Deleting Customers' E-mails Unread?"). Or call Borders corporate headquarters toll-free at 1-800-243-7510 (press 9 for customer care). Please visit the Facebook page and help spread the word about this campaign!

Digg!

Pulping is the Publishing Industry's Dirty Little Secret

   
   

In time for the holiday season, while you're perusing best-of-lists to find that perfect book gift for a loved one, here's something the publishing industry doesn't want you to know. By shipping books to retailers on consignment terms, then requiring the return or destruction of unsold merchandise, the publishing industry operates unlike all other manufacturers. An estimated 30 TO 40 PERCENT of books are returned by bookstores annually. Between 65 and 95 percent of returned books are pulped - destroyed by publishers.



Clearly, the publishing indutry overprints on a massive scale because of returns. And the environmental impact of this pulping waste is staggering. The Canadian website Book Industry Bailout has calculated the shocking scale of trees cut and greenhouse gas emissions due to overprinting by the publishing industry in Canada. In the U.S., the environmental destruction is multiplied at least tenfold, since our publishing industry is 15 to 20 times larger.



Most big publishers would like to keep this a secret, refusing to release hard figures on their returns. Conscientious small publishers are thankfully not so quiet on the subject, especially those who have moved to publish-on-demand business models.

Reporting in the Wall Street Journal in 2005, Jeffrey Trachtenberg called returns "the dark side of the book world," and quoted Barnes & Noble CEO Steve Riggio as saying, "We'd like to see (returns) discontinued. Any rational business person looking at this practice would think the industry has gone mad." Last year, Borders executive VP Robert P. Gruen told the New York Times that "We generally support the idea of looking at potential solutions to a return system that is not working well for the industry as a whole."



According to Book Industry Bailout, the practice of publishers providing books to retailers on returnable terms only dates to the 1930s, and "began as a temporary sales gimmick by a desperate New York publisher." But the concept spread as booksellers demanded the same favorable terms from other publishers, and eventually became standard – "handicapping an entire industry for the next seven decades in an unfortunate practice that has wasted literally billions of dollars worldwide."

Nearly all non-book retailers purchase products from manufacturers or distributors at 50% or less of their retail value, mark them up, then discount the items until they sell. They can't return unsold items.



The business of selling books turns this normal practice on its head by allowing book returns of unsold books to publishers. Yet it costs money to ship returned books back. Thus was born the practice of stripping covers from books, only sending back the covers, and book stores themselves destroying the remainder of the unsold books.


Dumpstered books behind a B. Dalton Bookseller store in Ohio, 2003

Independent book stores have far fewer returns than chains, with sell-through rates estimated at 80 percent. This suggests that smarter buying practices by stores reduce returns, and further demonstrates why overprinting is so unnecessary.

Many chain book stores do the publishers' dirty work of pulping the books for them – booksellers call it dumpstering. And when financially struggling book chains shut stores, as is happening right now with Borders closing 200 Waldenbooks locations, there is enormous pressure for management to take the cheapest way out and order employees to simply dumpster unsold books.

Rogues Gallery

All Posts by Category

Tags

#ChapelHillShooting #MuslimLivesMatter (1) $400 haircuts (3) 1960s (1) 1980s (1) 1984 (1) 1988 elections (1) 1989 (1) 1990 elections (3) 1992 elections (1) 1993 (3) 1994 elections (1) 1996 elections (3) 1998 elections (1) 2000 elections (3) 2004 (7) 2004 elections (2) 2008 (32) 2008 congressional races (2) 2012 elections (3) 2014 elections (13) 2016 elections (7) 527 groups (1) 9/11 (4) 9/11 first anniversary (1) Abba Eban (1) Abbe Raven (1) Abbie Hoffman (2) ABC (1) abortion (3) action alert (7) activism (2) advertising (2) advocacy (1) affair (4) Affordable Care Act (1) affordable housing fund (1) afghanistan (2) Age of Obama (1) AIDS (1) AIDS victims (2) AIPAC (1) al gore (2) Al Sharpton (1) Alec Guettal (3) alienation (2) Alison Lundergan Grimes (1) alternative energy (10) Alzheimer's (1) amanda marcotte (2) American Left (4) Americans for Limited Government (1) Americans For Prosperity (1) Amnon Rubenstein (1) andrew young (3) Angelo Robinson (1) anti-communism (1) anti-gay bigotry (1) anti-gay violence (1) anti-immigration activists (2) anti-science (1) anti-Semitism (1) anti-vaccine (1) anti-vaxxers (1) anti-war (6) appeal to southern voters (1) apprentice (1) Ariel Sharon (1) Ashley Todd (2) assassinations (2) Astroturf (1) atheism (1) attack ads (5) attack on voter rights (4) Australia (1) autism (1) average Americans (1) baby boomers (1) baby formula (1) bank of america (1) bankruptcy reform (1) barack obama (24) Barry Commoner (2) BBC (1) Benghazi (1) Benjamin L. Ginsberg (1) Bensonhurst (1) Berkeley (1) Beth Ising (2) bi-racial coalition (1) Biden-Palin Debate (1) big banks (1) big money (4) bigotry (7) bill clinton (6) bill donohue (1) Bill Hedrick (1) Bill O'Reilly (1) billionaires (1) Billy Bragg (1) Black Cultural Center (1) Black Lives Matter (4) black voters (7) Blan Holman (1) block the vote (1) bloggergate (1) bloggers (1) blogosphere (1) Bob Dole (1) Bob Iger (1) bob johnson (1) body cameras (1) books (3) Borders (2) BP (2) Brad Blog (1) Brad Friedman (1) Bruce Braley (4) budget deficit (1) bush (7) Bush Administration (2) bush administration misconduct (3) bush donor (1) bush on steroids (1) bush v. gore (1) California (1) Camilo Padreda (1) campaign feud (1) campaign finance reform (8) campaign gaffes (2) campaign scandals (4) campaigns (1) can edwards win (3) canvassing (1) capitalism (2) Catalyst (5) censorship (5) Cesar Chavez (1) Chad Taylor (1) Channel One (1) chapel hill (7) chapel hill town council (3) Charlie Black (1) Charlie Crist (1) Chatham County (1) chemical industry (2) children (1) chris hughes (1) Chris Whittle (1) Christine O'Donnell (1) CIA (3) CIA recruiting (1) CIA torture report (1) citizen participation (1) Citizens United (1) civil disobedience (2) civil rights (7) civil rights movement (1) civilian casualties (2) Civitas Institute (1) class issues (1) Clean Up Congress (1) Clear Channel (2) Clinton Administration (3) code words (1) Cold War (1) colin powell (1) Colin Small (1) college campuses (2) colonialism (1) columbia (1) community reinvestment (1) community reinvestment act (1) concentration of mass media ownership (4) Concord (1) congress (7) conservation (1) consumer fraud (2) consumers (2) Coors (1) corporate accountability (8) corporate front groups (1) corporate giveaways (2) corporate greed (1) corporate influence (4) corporate media (2) corporate misconduct (8) corporations (8) corruption (1) counter-inaugural (1) CRA (1) cra-nc (2) Craig Hicks (1) CRomnibus (2) crony capitalism (1) cross burnings (1) Crossroads GPS (1) Cuba (1) cuban exiles (1) cultural imperialism (1) Dale McKinley (1) damage control (2) Dana Rohrabacher (1) dark money (3) Darren Wilson (2) David Ball (2) David Brower (1) David Dellinger (1) David Duke (1) David Horowitz (1) Deah Barakat (1) debates (1) Debbie Cook (1) demagogues (3) democracy (6) Democratic Convention (1) democratic nomination (15) democratic party (2) Democrats (2) Denis Hayes (1) deregulation (1) detainees (1) Dick Cheney (1) dictatorships (1) dirty tricks (4) discrimination (1) Disney (1) disparate treatment (1) diversity (1) divisive politics (3) Dominican Republic (1) Donald Rumsfeld (1) donald trump (4) dumpstering (2) durham (2) e-mail (2) early voting (2) Ebola (2) economic inequality (2) economic issues (1) economy (4) ed meese (1) Ed Rollins (1) Edison Project (1) edith childs (1) education (2) edwards affair (4) election day 2008 (1) election fraud (1) electoral college (1) Eliot Spitzer (1) Elizabeth Dole (1) elizabeth edwards (2) Elizabeth Warren (3) Emily Lawson (1) employee pensions (1) end racism (4) energy independence (9) entertaining ourselves to death (5) environment (15) environmental pollution (5) environmental racism (2) Eric Garner (2) Eric Holder (1) Eric Odell (2) Ericka Kurz (21) evan bayh (1) Executive Orders (1) expenditures (1) exploitation of 9/11 (2) Exxon Valdez (1) factory farming (1) Faux News (1) FBI (1) Fear (1) fec (1) feminism (1) Ferguson (3) Fidel Castro (2) field plan (1) financial house of cards (1) fire (1) Fire From The Mountain (1) firebombing (2) fired up (1) first openly gay elected official in south (1) Florida (1) florida recount (1) foreign policy (1) Fox News (1) fraud (1) fraudulent inauguration (2) Frederick Douglass (1) Free Speech Movement (1) freedom songs (1) friend (1) fuel efficiency (1) fundraising (2) gary hart (1) gay (6) gay history (2) gay marriage (1) gay-baiting (4) Gaza (2) gen. david petraeus (1) gender equality (1) general election (23) Generation X (1) George H.W. Bush (9) George Norris (1) george w. bush (12) Geraldine Ferraro (1) Germany (2) gerrymandering (1) get-out-the-vote (3) GLBT community (1) global warming (2) GOP (27) GOP Slime Machine (10) GOTV (3) government harassment (1) government secrecy (1) great recession (1) greed (1) Greg Orman (1) grocery store (1) ground game (1) ground zero (1) GSE's (1) guerrillas (1) guest workers (1) Gulf War (5) gun violence (1) h+r block (1) hackers (2) Hamas (2) Harriet Ann Jacobs (2) Harris Wofford (1) Harry Blackmun (1) Harry Truman (1) Harvey Gantt (6) hate crimes (1) hate-mongering (3) hatred (3) health care reform (4) hedge funds (2) Helen Caldicott (2) Henry Hyde (1) Henry Kissinger (1) Henry Louis Gates Jr. (1) hero (1) Hezbollah (1) hillary clinton (14) historical amnesia (1) history (1) hit the road jack (1) HMO's (1) Ho Chi Minh (1) hoaxes (1) Holocaust (1) home foreclosures (1) homophobia (1) housing (1) Howard Rich (1) HR 1461 (1) Huks (1) Human Rights Campaign (1) hurting communities (1) i feel pretty (1) iit’s a wonderful life (1) immigration (4) immigration action (1) immigration reform (3) Inauguration Day 2009 (1) Incidents In The Life of a Slave Girl (2) income inequality (1) Indigo Girls (1) industrial agriculture (1) industrial revolution (1) integration (1) intelligence community (1) international relations (1) Invasion of Panama (1) Iowa (4) iowa caucuses (1) Ira Magaziner (1) Iran/Contra scandal (1) iraq (2) iraq war (4) iraq war costs (2) Irgun (1) ISIS (1) Islamic State (1) Islamophobia (1) Israel (5) Israeli Labor Party (1) Israeli-Palestinian conflict (6) James Bay II (1) James Carville (1) james watt (1) January 20 2001 (2) January 20 2009 (1) jeb bush (3) Jenn Karson (1) Jenny McCarthy (1) Jeremiah Wright (1) Jerry Falwell (1) Jerry Rubin (1) Jesse Helms (13) jesse jackson (3) Jessecrats (1) Jesus de Galindez (1) JFK Assassination (1) Jill Biden (1) Jim DeMint (1) Jim Hunt (3) Jimmy Langman (3) job losses (3) joe biden (3) joe herzenberg (3) Joe Sestak (1) joe trippi (1) John Boehner (3) john edwards (12) john kerry (4) John Lennon (1) John Locke (1) John McCain (16) John Moody (1) john poindexter (1) John Raese (1) John Reich (1) John Sinclair (1) Joni Ernst (5) June 24 1973 (1) justice (2) justice for all (1) Justice for Mike Brown (1) Kansas (2) Karl Marx (1) Karl Rove (5) Kay Hagan (4) Kayla Mueller (1) Ken Calvert (1) Kentucky (1) Kirti Shastri (1) KKK (1) Koch brothers (4) Korean War (1) Ku Klux Klan (2) labor unions (2) Lakota Woman (1) Lamar Alexander (1) Larry Kissell (1) Latin America (2) Latinos (2) Lawton Chiles (1) lazy journalism (1) Lebanon (1) lee c. wilson (1) legal system (1) Lehman Brothers (1) lesbian (1) liberation theology (1) Libya (1) Likud (3) Linda Brent (2) Lisa Abbott (3) lobbying (1) Louisiana (1) love child scandal (2) lynching (1) macaca moment (1) MAJIC (1) Mandy Carter (1) Marco Rubio (1) Mark Chilton (2) Mark Kleinschmidt (1) Mark Penn (1) marketing (2) Martin Frost (1) Martin Luther King Jr. (1) Mary Brave Bird (1) Mary Crow Dog (1) maternity leave (1) Matt Czajkowski (1) max cleland (1) mayor of franklin street (1) mbna (1) McCain missteps (2) McCain VP (7) McCarthyism (1) McDesperate (4) measles (1) media (2) media bias (3) media failed to inform (2) media hysteria (1) media monopolies (3) medical insurance industry (3) Medicare (1) melissa mcewan (1) memorial (1) Menachem Begin (2) mentor (1) merger (1) Michael Bell (1) Michael Brown (3) Michael Stipe (1) Michele Bachmann (1) Michelle Bachmann (1) michelle malkin (1) Michigan (1) middle east (1) Miguel Recarey (1) Mike Castle (1) Mike Easley (2) Mike Hummell (1) military-industrial complex (3) Millennials (1) Milton Wolf (1) minimum wage (1) mission not accomplished (1) Mitch McConnell (3) Mitt Romney (6) Mobil (2) molly ivins (1) money (1) Moral Majority (3) MOVE (4) multiculturalism (1) multinational corporations (2) Muslim Americans (1) mybo (1) NAACP (1) Nat Turner (1) Nathan Sproul (1) Native Americans (2) nc (4) NC Legislature (1) NC MOBE 96 (1) NC PDP (1) neo-nazis (1) Nestle (1) netroots (3) New Left (1) New Orleans (1) New World Order (1) New York City (3) Nicaragua (2) no justice no peace (1) No More Bushes (1) nobama democrats (1) non-profits (2) North Carolina (23) North Korea (1) nuclear industry (3) Obama Inauguration (1) Obamacare (1) Obsession DVD (1) OCAW (1) occupied territories (2) October 28 2007 (1) offshore drilling (1) Ohio (1) oil (10) oil industry (6) oliver north (1) Omar Cabezas (1) online organizing (1) oppression (2) oprah (1) organizing (12) Orlando Bosch (1) Osama Bin Laden (1) ots (2) outrage (1) overconsumption (1) Palestine (1) pandagon (1) pat buchanan (1) Pat Roberts (2) Pat Toomey (1) patriarchy (2) Paul Wellstone (1) payday lending (1) peace (4) peace is patriotic (1) Peggy Young (1) Pennsylvania (2) Penny Rich (1) Peter King (1) petition (2) pharmaceutical industry (1) Phillipines (1) phonebanking (1) phony billionaire (1) picketing (1) PIRGs (1) PLO (2) police accountability (4) police brutality (5) police oversight (4) political committees (1) political consultants (1) political heroes (1) polls (1) pottersville (1) President Obama (4) presidential campaign (30) privatization of education (2) pro-war propaganda (1) profits (1) progressive Democrats (3) progressives (1) property (1) protest (2) protests (6) Public Citizen (1) public health (2) public opinion (2) publishing industry (2) pulp (1) pulping (2) PUMA (1) race card (1) race relations (5) race riots (2) racism (22) racist terrorism (1) radicals (2) Rafael Trujillo (1) rally (1) ralph nader (3) RALs (1) Rand Paul (2) ray charles (1) reading list (3) reagan's racism (1) recall elections (1) recession of 1991-92 (2) recession of 2008 (1) redbaiting (1) redistricting (1) refugee camps (1) refund anticipation loans (1) reproductive rights (1) Republican National Convention (2) republican party (2) Republican Study Committee (1) returns (2) revolution (1) rich donors (2) Richard Fink (1) Rick Santorum (1) Rick Scott (1) rielle hunter (2) Right Wing (11) right wing Republicans (11) RIP (3) rip-off (1) Robert McCulloch (1) Robert Mercer (1) Robert Redford (2) Robin Hayes (1) ronald reagan (2) Ruby Sinreich (1) rudy giuliani (1) ruling class (1) rush limbaugh (3) Sabra and Shatilla Massacres (1) Sam Brownback (2) same-sex marriage (1) Sandinistas (1) Sarah Palin (14) SAU (1) savings and loans (1) Scamdal (1) schools (1) Scientology (1) Scott Brown (1) SDS (2) SEAC (20) selected not elected (1) Senate races (10) sept. 11 (4) sept. 11 2002 (2) sexism (2) Sharron Angle (1) Sheldon Adelson (1) Shimon Peres (1) single payer health system (2) Six-Day War (1) slaveholders (1) slavery (2) Smithfield Foods (1) social movements (1) social networking (1) solar panels (1) soul music (1) south carolina primary (4) Soviet Union (1) spat (1) Sprint (1) Stand With Peggy (1) state governments (1) Steve Scalise (1) Steve Schmidt (3) stolen election (5) stop bush (1) StopBrownback (1) strange incidents (2) street theatre (1) Student Action Union (1) student activism (19) student voting (3) students (11) subprime lending (1) super PACs (2) superdelegate petition (2) superdelegates (2) supreme court (5) susan baylies (1) swine flu panic (1) Syria (1) take action (16) tax code fairness (2) Tea Party (8) Ted Cruz (3) terrorism (2) Terry Sanford (1) The Revolt (1) The Zionist Dream Revisited (1) these guys (1) third world (3) Thom Tillis (3) Thomas Frank (1) Threshold (8) tim kaine (1) Time Warner (1) tobacco industry (1) Tom DeLay (1) Tongass National Forest (1) Tony Coelho (1) Tony Mazzocchi (1) torture (1) Troopergate (1) trump was born wealthy (1) U.S. power structure (2) UNC-Chapel Hill (5) undocumented immigrants (2) unemployment (1) United Kingdom (2) universal healthcare coverage (6) unprovoked war (1) UpStairs Lounge (1) uranium mining (1) US foreign policy (2) US support for Israel (2) vaccines work (1) Vandana Ramaswamy (1) VANISH (1) veepstakes (4) vice president (6) Vietnam War (7) VOE (1) volunteers (6) vote packing (1) voter education (2) voter ID (1) voter intimidation (2) voter mobilization (1) voter registration (12) voter suppression (9) voter turnout (8) voter-owned elections (1) voters (7) voters for obama (2) voting (1) voting problems (1) voting rights (1) vp (1) Waldenbooks (2) Wall Street (2) walter mondale (1) war (6) war in iraq (5) war on terror (4) war on women (1) war profits (1) War Resisters League (1) war toys (1) war weary (1) waste (2) waterboarding (1) wealth (2) white supremacy (3) Whittle Communications (1) Winona LaDuke (3) Wisconsin (2) women (1) Woodrow Wilson (1) Woodstock (1) workers (1) workplace discrimination (1) World War One (1) xenophobia (2) Yippie! (1) Yitzhak Rabin (1) you're fired (1) young voters (1) youth (1) youth empowerment (2) youtube (1) Yusef Hawkins (1) Zionism (2)

Even More Outrage via Leftweets.org

Twitter Outrage News Feed