Is Digi Scrapbooking Greener than Paper Scrapbooking?

I practice minimalist scrapbooking to reduce my scrapbook stash. My primary goal is to save money. A secondary concern is environmental. I want to be less wasteful and a room or closet full of unused supplies is wasteful.

My stash looks just as large as it did when I started this process even though I have scrapbooked quite a bit over the last few months. I have every intent to remain a paper scrapbooker and not convert fully to digital scrapbooking. I mention this because I read or hear people making the case that digital scrapbooking is greener than paper scrapbooking. There is a persistent belief in our culture that digital is always greener than conventional. Evidence is rarely provided to back up this assertion.

I am not convinced that digital is greener. I am not aware of any study that has examined digital versus paper scrapbooking in terms of eco-friendliness, but there are studies comparing e-books to paper books.

Consider how many e-books equal the carbon footprint of a conventional book (from TSTC Publishing):

It takes about 20 books on an e-reader to equal a book, provided the book is brand new and is never passed on.

What this means is that for an avid scrapbooker, switching to digital should eventually reduce your carbon footprint. Keep in mind though, that if digi scrap and then print out your layouts it is going to take even more digi scrapbooking to reach this point. Something else to consider is what a conventional scrapbooker is using for supplies. If he or she is using stuff that would normally just be thrown away, then their carbon footpring is going to be smaller.

The point is that dig scrapbooking is not necessarily greener. There is no research (to my knowledge) that indicates it is. There is evidence indicating that it could be greener, but there are other variables to consider that could greatly change the results.

I think a better question is how could paper and digi scrapbooking be greener, not which one is greener. What do you think? Comment below or join the conversation on facebook or twitter.

Read more:

Are E-Readers Greener than Books?

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Stephanie