musician magazine

March 1995

Slowly Turning Green by Eckart Rahn, president, Celestial Harmonies

Companies in the recording industry have traditionally been far behind others in demonstrating real commitment to protecting the environment. As a record company president , I find the lack of genuine, impactful action in this area embarrassing.

The record industry produces billions of compact discs. Phasing out the 12–inch throw–away long–box format in 1992 had some impact on reducing packaging waste, but much remains. Too much plastic is used for most CD jewel box packages. Liner notes and booklets are traditionally printed on nonrecyclable paper. Toxic inks remain the standard tool for printing music information.

In November 1994, Celestial Harmonies became the first company in the industry to publicly issue a corporate environmental policy. All of the plastic used in our packaging is recyclable. We were the first label to introduce the CD duobox to the American market, a product which dramatically reduces the volume and weight of plastic packaging for all two–CD packages. In 1993, we began using the CD slim–line box, the first company to use this plastic–reducing package for full–length CDs. Also, we began using recycled paper for all of our printed materials, and earlier this year began using nontoxic vegetable inks in our printing.

Celestial Harmonies will no longer record artists who do not demonstrate environmentally responsible practices. In fact, some of our artists, such as the Australian group Coolangubra, are leaders of the environmental movement in their countries.

What prevents most record companies from stepping to the forefront of this issue? Likely, the expense. Certainly it costs our company more to package the way we now do, and the retail industry is somewhat frustrated with accommodating packaging changes. Nevertheless it is no secret that the environment has suffered tremendously during the last decades. As an industry that otherwise contributes so much to the world, it is time for our business to institute and follow responsible environmental policies. We all have a stake in that.