Environmental sustainability statement

Purton Magazine, in its present format, was produced entirely within the village until 2016, with layout and print by In Touch Services. As it’s popularity and page numbers grew, it became more cost effective to switch from a digital to a lithographic print process. The Magazine is still edited and designed within the village, and printed just four miles away in Royal Wootton Bassett, by Hulbert & Woodall Print – who also print the Royal Wootton Bassett Community Magazine.

In 2017 the owner of In Touch Services, Rick Dixon, who had produced the magazine since 2004, retired and handed over both the business and Purton Magazine to Heather Ponting-Bather. Since then the publication has continued to grow and it’s financial and environmental sustainability are closely monitored to ensure value for money, and as little impact on our community environment and wider area as possible.

In March 2020 we reverted back to bond stock for the inner pages from the more processed and more expensive silk stock we had been using. The benefit of bond stock is not only financial; it uses less energy to produce at the paper mill, and doesn’t require a solvent seal once it’s printed. Hulbert and Woodall use non-toxic vegetable-based inks to print.

Each month we carefully evaluate numbers of copies required so as not to over print and create excessive waste or spend money unnecessarily. Unfortunately retail sales are notoriously difficult to predict from month to month – sometimes it can depend on the picture featured on our cover! The few copies that are unsold from our retail outlets each month are always collected and recycled.