'Esquire' E-Cover Scratches Hearst's Green Sheen

Ever since The New York Times reported earlier this week that Esquire would use its October cover to showcase a new technology called E-Ink, I've been wondering just how bad this little experiment will be for the environment.

Now we know: Fast Company says producing and distributing 100,000 of the digital covers (which are manufactured in Mexico and need to be shipped in a refrigerated truck) will increase the magazine's carbon footprint by 16 percent -- and that's before you consider the environmental impact of disposing of all those plastic parts and batteries.

Now, magazine publishing isn't a particularly green endeavor under the best of circumstances, but Esquire's parent, Hearst Magazines, at least makes an effort. Its new headquarters building is one of the greenest office towers in Manhattan in terms of energy consumption, and Hearst also operates a website, thedailygreen.com, full of environment-friendly advice.

I asked Esquire editor David Granger about the disharmony, and here's the answer I got from a magazine spokesman:

We're doing something with our October cover that hasn't been done before, and it's important that the ecological impact is minimal. There will be instructions in the issue detailing how to dispose of the cover and its components properly but, frankly, we don't expect anyone to throw it out.

Considering the battery runs out after 90 days, I'm thinking that's a little optimistic.