I want to tell you about two of the major players in the fight to get wasteful unwanted catalog mailings under control. These groups are actually after catalogs and all other junk mail (catalogs make up a little over half of all junk mail). I’ve recently been in touch with these groups who want to help promote our CCC project, so I’m really thankful to them for this assistance. I’m also thankful to them for the amazing work that they do!
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GreenDimes.com has been at it longer than most canceling groups. They’re taking on catalogs until one day, they hope, they will actually put themselves out of business! I hope this CCC project will help us all greet that day soon. They have a fabulous service and have stopped over ten million pounds of junk mail so far! GreenDimes also has a fabulous green news blog called Tonic News Network about “Good Thoughts and Going Green.” It’s one of my favorites.
You can sign up for free at GreenDimes.com and stick with their “Add Catalogs” page which is really easy to use for opting out of catalogs. They also walk you through how to get off direct mailers lists for all other junk mail. PLUS, they’ll mail you a dollar when you sign up, or you can select that they keep it and plant a tree. For a small fee, GreenDimes will take care of the direct marketers for you to save you some time.
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DoNotMail.org - This “Do Not Mail” registry, much like the “Do Not Call” efforts that were so successful, is run by Forest Ethics. They’re on the sharper edge of this movement and although they have the hardest all-or-nothing hill to climb, I’d imagine they’re putting some serious pressure on junk mailers to reform their ways. They’re pushing for legislation to make unsolicited mailings against the law so that direct mailers have to listen to consumer requests. So far over 60,000 people have signed their petition.
This would be a fabulous project for a high school “Green Club” to run with and promote, but is over the heads of my fourth graders, I would think. For now, check out their site and sign their petition. It’s really easy!
Tags: Uncategorized by Ted Wells
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And on Wednesday, a short “back to school” article appeared in the Boston Globe featuring my answers to a few questions about carpooling, reusing, etc. It wasn’t so much about the catalog project, but they did mention this site at the end (unfortunately with the wrong URL - rrrr). The reporter, Christie Matheson, wants to do a follow-up article about the catalog project this fall, which is exciting.