Trent Willmon Goes Green

Trent Willmon on the set of his new video, "There Is a God." Photo courtesy of Hallmark Direction Company.

November 13, 2007 — Trent Willmon's record label, Compadre Records, is going green with new Farm2Ranch earth-friendly CD packaging, beginning with the release of Trent's upcoming album, Broken In on Feb. 26, 2008.

"It's a natural fit to launch our Farm2Ranch friendly CD green initiative around Trent," says Compadre president and founder Brad Turcotte. "He was raised on a ranch in small-town Texas and grew up without a television, appreciating life without an overabundance of energy use."

Brad says the entertainment industry must become more environmentally sensitive to fans. "As a majority, country music fans are men and women that are farmers and ranchers and consumers that enjoy fishing and hunting. Compadre will do our part to help preserve the beauty of the community and take a stand to act upon our beliefs."

Compadre's green initiatives include switching from jewel cases to eco-friendly digipaks containing recycled board and PaperFoam trays that are recyclable and biodegradable. Liner notes, photos and credits will be available to consumers on Compadre's website, and the company will transition its catalog to the new packaging as existing stock needs replenishment.

Within the Compadre offices, staff will switch to recycled paper products and will experiment by servicing albums to media using reusable USB storage drives and downloads. Office practices will include increased use of e-mail and PDF distribution to eliminate use of paper products, recycling used toner cartridges, creating a company-wide recycling program, replacing office lighting with energy-saving bulbs and exploring telecommuting opportunities to cut down on driving. Touring artists' contract riders will insist that no Styrofoam cups or plates be used and will request that promoters recycle and compost.