National Geographic magazine reaches 49 million print and digital readers in 33 languages worldwide.
The English edition of the March 2020 issue features a cover story that begs the question, is a world without trash possible? This story is focused on exploring the goal of a circular economy, where we use resources sparingly and recycle endlessly.
With a cover story of global relevance and focus, most of the local-language editions followed the flagship cover choice.
The Indian and Estonian editions used the same gatefold cover as the English edition. Many other editions went with a modified single-page version that still captured the "End of Trash" concept by juxtaposing discarded clothing alongside its second life as a tailored garment.
Other editions used alternate images to illustrate the same cover story. The French, Kazakhstan, and Thai editions used an image showing a new waste-to-energy facility in Copenhagen, while the Italian edition featured the trash-filled interior of that facility. The German edition went with an image of recognizable waste bags used in the country, and the Portuguese and Spanish editions featured a Dutch tire-recycling plant on the cover.
Animals were also prominently featured this month. The Czech and Serbian editions featured the Secrets of Bees story. The Netherlands edition chose to highlight Dutch photographer Jasper Doest’s Japanese Macaques, and the Russian edition used the Arctic Wolves story from the September 2019 edition.
The Bulgarian edition, in honor of a national holiday, published a piece on 13th-century rebel leader Tsar Ivaylo.
See below for a round-up of our covers from across the globe.
