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Catalog of woes? While many catalogs impact the earth, greener alternatives abound

E: The Environmental Magazine, Sept-Oct, 2004 by Phoebe Hall

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It may be awhile before consumers see more recycled paper in their catalogs. "This is an industry that is slow to change," Mills notes.

But don't despair: take action. You can register with the DMA's Mail Preference Service to reduce the catalogs and other ad mail you receive. Send your name, address, signature and the request "Please register my name with the Mail Preference Service" to P.O. Box 643, Carmel, N.Y., 10512. There is a $5 fee to register online, dmaconsumers.org/cgi/ offmailinglistdave.

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Another option is to call catalogers directly and ask them to send fewer mailings or to take you off their lists. Get active with Forest Ethics or the Center for the New American Dream, which are calling for easier ways to get off mailing lists. The Center envisions a "Do Not Junk" list, similar to the extraordinarily popular "Do Not Call" list that lets households voluntarily remove themselves from telemarketer lists. So far the campaign has generated 15,000 letters to Congress, says Sean Sheehan, the Center's national outreach manager--"the most popular letter-writing campaign we've ever done."

Greener Choices

You don't have to give up catalogs. If shopping online isn't for you, use your greenbacks to green your mail. Support companies that already use recycled paper: Sundance (800-422-2770, www.sundancecatalog.com), Patagonia (800-336-9090, www.patagonia. com) and Gaiam (877-989-6321, www.gaiam.com) all use at least 20 percent post-consumer recycled content in their catalogs. Mountain Equipment Co-op (888-847-0770, www.mec.ca), a Canadian outdoors equipment retailer, uses 30 percent, and organic gardening supplier Seeds of Change (888-762-7333, www.seed sofchange.com) uses 60 percent. Going a step further, a small Santa Cruz, California-based retailer, GoodHumans (866-420-4208, www.goodhumans.com), prints catalogs only on demand, on 100 percent post-consumer recycled or tree-free paper. (You can also view the company's catalog as a PDF--click on the link at goodhumans.com/ Shopping/Catalog.)

And don't abandon your old favorites completely. Instead, tell them you want greener catalogs--because they're most likely to listen to their customers. "Consumers who care about this issue need to let their catalog companies know," Gwen Ruta of Environmental Defense suggests. "When you place an order, say, 'I want you to switch to recycled paper.' Because that's actually more powerful." CONTACT: Center for a New American Dream, (877) 683-7326, www.newdream.org; Environmental Defense, (212) 505-2100, www.environmentaldefense.org; Forest Ethics, (415) 863-4563, www. forestethics.org; Recycle Please, www. recycleplease.org

PHOEBE HALL recycles the few catalogs she receives.

Catalog of woes? While many catalogs impact the earth, greener alternatives abound

E: The Environmental Magazine, Sept-Oct, 2004 by Phoebe Hall

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