DALLAS (November 1, 2007) —Through its new BecomeGreen.org project, Half Price Books is making a commitment to reduce the use of plastic bags among its customers while donating funds to further environmental education initiatives. On November 15, America Recycles Day, Half Price Books will kick off its funding pledge to contribute 5 cents of every bagless or reusable bag transaction to Becomegreen.org. To celebrate, each Half Price Books location will give away a free reusable tote bag to the first 100 customers on that day.

More than 100 billion plastic bags are used annually in the United States, and the average person uses 336 single-use bags a year. An estimated 4 billion of these bags end up as litter. "Our goal is to get 1 million people a year to not take a bag when they shop in our stores," said Kathy Doyle Thomas, executive vice president of Half Price Books. "But more importantly, we want people to realize the impact that small action can have on the environment, and reduce bag use at all shopping venues."

BecomeGreen.org will take the funds representing bagless transactions and use them to support various programs aimed at educating people on how to be more active in conservation, recycling and preserving the environment in their daily lives. Half Price Books has been environmentally-conscious since its founding in 1972, when founders Ken Gjemre and Pat Anderson started the company in order to keep good, useable books in circulation rather than ending up in a landfill. The company still sticks to its founding principles, buying anything printed or recorded, and donating or recycling what isn't sold whenever possible. Last year alone, Half Price Books donated more than 1 million books to various non-profit organizations such as Feed the Children.

About Half Price Books
Half Price Books is the largest family-owned new and used bookstore chain, with nearly 100 retail locations in 14 states. Stores are open seven days a week and buy and sell new and used books, magazines, comics, records, CDs, DVDs and collectible items. Half Price Books has been dedicated to environmental and literacy efforts for 35 years by supporting hundreds of projects including the annual Half Pint Library Book Drive, which provides hospitals, clinics and pediatric centers nationwide with book donations collected at all store locations. In addition, Half Price Books is a founding contributor to Laura Bush"s National Book Festival, as well as a supporter of the National Center for Family Literacy and Feed the Children. For more information about Half Price Books, please www.halfpricebooks.com.