RODALE NEWSROOM, EMMAUS, PA—The nation’s largest free catalog-reduction service recently signed up its one-millionth customer, helping people opt out of receiving more than 162.3 million catalogs during its first year in operation. A major mailing association joined the waste-reduction efforts in September, prompting many big-name retailers to stop sending catalogs to people who sign up for the opt-out service.
THE DETAILS: Catalog Choice saves energy and reduces the pollution and waste created through the production, delivery and disposal of unwanted retail catalogs. Companies don’t necessarily have to honor the Catalog Choice request to stop sending unsolicited mail, but in late September, the American Catalog Mailers Association put pressure on catalogers to honor consumer preference requests made through Catalog Choice. And so far, it’s working. Participating merchants include powerhouses like Pottery Barn, L.L. Bean, Office Depot, Williams-Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, REI and Urban Outfitters. “Catalog Choice is by far the most successful online mail-reduction service ever, and as we approach another holiday season, we expect it will continue to grow and become even more effective, now that catalogers—en masse—are on board with its missions,” says Natural Resources Defense Council spokeswoman Jenny Powers. NRDC is one of the major environmental groups endorsing the Ecology Center sponsored mail-reduction service.
WHAT IT MEANS: This is a great example of how precycling (eliminating the need to recycle by eliminating unneeded stuff in the first place) trumps recycling. While recycling all those ignored Victoria’s Secret catalogs piling up in your house is better than throwing them away, recycling still uses energy. But cutting the production of paper catalogs saves energy. Each year, 53 million trees are used to produce 19 billion catalogs—enough energy to power 1.2 million homes a year.
Here’s how you can do your part to declutter your mailbox and eliminate waste:
• Take a few minutes to register. Create a user name and password at Catalog Choice to choose the catalogs you don’t want to receive anymore. You’ll need copies of all the catalogs you want to decline so you can enter the customer code numbers.
• Explain yourself. A section on the website lets you tell the retailer why you don’t want to receive their catalogs anymore. Whether you want to help the environment or just can’t stand to look at another faux-distressed coffee table, it could help convince retailers to stop flooding everyone’s mailbox. You can also thank them for agreeing to participate, and/or let them know you’ll be viewing their catalogs online.
• Offer positive reinforcement. When making purchases, try to support companies that take extra steps—such as reducing or eliminating mailings—to help the environment. Businesses that have joined with Catalog Choice and agreed to stop mailing unwanted catalogs are listed here.