Social responsibility

Usborne belongs to the Publishers’ Resolution for Ethical International Manufacturing Standards (Prelims).

Prelims is an organisation working in the international book trade. Its concerns are to ensure that all books sold by its members are ethically produced. Publishers in Prelims are working together to promote and implement an internationally recognised social accountability standard that both we and our suppliers must adhere to.

This standard derives from that already used by the global toy industry and is called the CARE Process, selected to symbolise the industry’s pledge to act in a Caring, Aware, Responsible and Ethical manner. CARE covers areas including working conditions, health and safety issues, adequate remuneration, working hours and the prohibition of the use of child and forced labour.

• For more information visit www.prelims.org

Always ethical

Usborne is one of the founding members of the Publishers’ Database for Responsible Environmental Paper Sourcing (PREPS). Together with other leading UK publishers, Usborne has established a database of paper, graded from 1 – 5 stars. This considers whether material has been legally harvested (or recycled) and how the forest sources have been managed.

Members of PREPS share this information to ensure that members can make informed and ethical buying decisions when sourcing paper.

• For more information visit www.preps-uk.com

Safety first

Usborne books are made to be enjoyed, shared, loved and played with - often with great passion and vigour!

It is essential that Usborne can guarantee the safety of all product designed to be played with by the under threes, and all product which contains additional parts.

Usborne invests substantial time, money and resources in putting each relevant product through many rigorous safety testing procedures, including tests for toxicity, choking hazards and general safety.

• For more about CE marking, visit the British Standards website