Taunton Press Employees Mark Earth Day

(Submitted by Rich Rivellese)

The employees at the Taunton Press take environmental and green concerns seriously, publishing books and magazines on the topic, doing composting and gardening on site, and trying to solicit and incorporate energy saving and environmentally friendly practices into the way we run our business.

One venture, a book and magazine publication called Junk Beautiful teaches people how to “upcycle” for decoration or practical use by using items they own or find in flea markets, thrift stores, and other cheap or free sources to make art or new usable household items.

We held a contest two years ago to see what employees could come up with and were quite impressed with the results — a long abandoned clarinet turned into a beautiful lamp; a picture frame made out of an old hockey stick; a candy dish made out of old vinyl LPs; and an Adirondack chair made by our warehouse out of old wooden pallets and crates.

This year we held the contest again and asked for entries to be brought in for today, Earth Day. The winner is an impressive “straw” hat made entirely out of Stop & Shop plastic bags.

Photos of other entries in this and past years' contests also are shown here.