Stop the flood of catalogs

Few things piss me off more as I try to live an environmentally sound life (to the best of my abilities) than the flood of catalogs that seem to invade my mailbox on a daily basis. I don't request the damn things, yet somehow they seem to find their way. I subscribed to Sunset magazine, and next thing I knew they'd sold my address to every furniture and garden retailer on the West Coast. I subscribed to Bicycling and Recording and Architectural Digest, and the flood deepened. Then someone gave us a gift subscription to Parenting magazine, and you can't believe the crap that generated.

God forbid I buy something at online merchant, since they respond to my obvious wired habits by sending me a dead-tree version of what I was using online. And really, does Victoria's Secret need to send out multiple pieces per week? (No. They don't. I don't care how hot the models are.)

Enter Catalog Choice, a project endorsed by the NRDC and the National Wildlife Council to help stem this wasteful practice.

You enter your personal information, check off the catalogs you receive from a list, and they contact those merchants and ask that they stop sending you their crap. And the real impact of participating and spreading the word could be huge:

The production and disposal of direct mail alone consumes more energy than 3 million cars.

Over eight million tons of trees are consumed each year in the production of paper catalogs.

Disgusting for a "product" that few people ask for, and even fewer need.

Update: Some of you are having trouble finishing the sign-up process. So did I. I guess "beta" means beta. Maybe it's a bug, maybe it's too much traffic. I dropped them a line.

From the comments, there were several recommendations for Green Dimes, which seeks to curb ALL junk mail. I'll be checking them out as well.

Update II: They found the bug that kept me and some of you from registering. I was able to register fine.

•  I am on this

  And at Christmas time?  Holy crap, I have to brace my foot against the mailbox post just to get all the crap catalogs out.

  by TigerMom on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:33:06 AM PDT

  •  me too

    As I do all my shopping online except for groceries.
    That only increases the catalogs arriving in my mailbox..tons of them. I try to just take them out of the mailbox and put them in my recycling bin for magazines. But it is still such a hassle and waste of natural resources to make those catalogs.

    by wishingwell on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:37:24 AM PDT

    •  Unfortunately

      I can no longer recycle magazines.  My current recycling curb pick-up doesn't recycle magazines or colored ads.

      These are pure trash for me, even though I would at least recycle them if I were able.

      by Prof Dave on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:39:02 AM PDT

      •  That sux.

        I think New York State has regulations that says you have to take X, Y, and Z for recycling.  Not sure what the regs are in your locale.

        As an alternative, I would print up a bunch of labels that say "RETURN TO SENDER," stick them on all the crap you don't want, and shove it back in the mailbox.  Let the USPS deal with it.

        by republicans are idiots on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:05:16 AM PDT

        •  USPS doesn't return junk mail

          Per USPS regs, undeliverable junk mail is discarded.  I hope they recycle it.

          by kurt on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 02:00:05 PM PDT

      •  My mother's subdivision in houston

        quit the recycling program in its entirety!!

        I drive 30 minutes twice a week to recycle practically everything.  Too bad it takes a luxury like a car, storage space and a facility with 30 minutes instead of just being routinely picked up all over the country.

        We've got to make it more profitable to recycle.  Purchase wisely!

        by EquiStar on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 11:02:52 AM PDT

•  I agree wholeheartedly with that, plus

  I hope there will be prosecutions of the polluters!

  by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:33:26 AM PDT

  •  How 'Bout All These PHONE BOOKS???!!!

    by serrano on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:12:12 AM PDT

    •  Phone books

      About a month ago, I got a call from AT&T:

      AT&T rep: Hi, I was calling to make sure you received our phone book.
      Me:  Nope.  I'm not an AT&T customer and would rather not have anything to do with you people.
      AT&T rep:  Well, I see you just moved to the area, so you'll probably need a phone book for local services.
      Me:  What?  It's 2007.  Why do I need a phone book clogging up space and killing trees when I have...The Internet?
      AT&T rep:  Well, some people like having real phone books around.
      Me:  Well, I'm not one of those people.  Please don't ever call me again.  This call does not give you the right to try to make me your long distance customer and I do not want a phone book.  Thank you.
      AT&T rep:  Okay!

      The next day, me and the Mr. went to lunch, came back home to find 4 phone books on our front porch.  

      by fabooj on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:20:15 AM PDT

      •  I Hear Ya!!!

        Even worse, I'm in Phoenix and receive multiple 'regional' tomes from multiple marketing sources--not even official fone books, just cover businesses!!  Piss me off!!!

        by serrano on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:22:21 AM PDT

      •  Do you think they did it

        just to upset you? I wonder, or do they just have to meet their quota of handing out telephone books.

        by Vera Lofaro on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:28:54 AM PDT

        •  The Deliverers--Paid by the Book!!!

          by serrano on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:34:45 AM PDT

      •  Yes, the phone books KILL Me.

        I get one every 2 months for both Portland Oregon and Vancouver WA not in the mailbox but ON the mailbox (so they don't havve to post them).  Do you realize how much it rains here. By the time I get them and call to cancel any future deliveries of them (and this is a chore all by itself...)  there seems to be another company who has produced one.

        by KenLeft on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 11:18:01 AM PDT

    •  Yeah, I mean

      exactly how many telephone books do you need? Personally, I like to browse the catalogs, but the telephone books no thrill there.

      by Vera Lofaro on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:27:22 AM PDT

•  THANK YOU!!!!!!

  God I hate being inundated with all of that waste showing me a bunch of crap that I don't need anyway.

  by lineatus on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:33:43 AM PDT

  •  Absolutely... bravo for finding this, Markos.

    150,000 users x 20 catalogs/wk x 52 wks/yr = 156 million catalogs annually!!!

    That's leveraging the netroots, man.

    by Mogolori on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:10:20 AM PDT

•  Thank you for the info, kos!!!! n/t

  by dakota kid on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:34:16 AM PDT

•  Very cool!!! Thanks for the resource...

  I will sign up now to stop those useless catalogues (which I usually end up recycling unread) from cluttering our snailmail box.

  by boofdah on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:35:04 AM PDT

  •  I usually end up dumping half

    the contents of my mailbox, or more, into the recycling bin before I reach the front door. Unread. It's just ridiculous.

    I have a somewhat eccentric friend who uses the catalogues she recieves as a plate for feeding her cats. She just drops some food on top of the opened catalogue. After the cats eat, the catalog goes into recycling. The no dirty cat bowls result is good, but it can be disconcerting to walk into her house and see a pile of cat food there in the middle of the kitchen floor.

    by aggressiveprogressive on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:08:53 AM PDT

•  I have a similar problem

  I made some charitable donations to Habitat for Humanity and the Smithsonian Museum, and now every day I get bombarded with tons of requests by other charities to make charitable donations to their cause: everything from the March of Dimes to cancer research to scholarships for American Indians.  All good causes, but I only have so much to donate each year.  Consequently, they (along with the inevitable free gift) just end up going into my trash can, producing waste and presumably costing these charities money.

  I wish there was some way to make it stop.  I am not an ATM.

  by Tarindel on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:35:10 AM PDT

  •  I have stopped giving to charities

    because I believe they just spend more than my small contributions on mailing additional requests for contributions.

    If I had the time and energy I'd write to Amnesty International and tell them here's my money - don't send me a gift, magazine or any further contribution requests other than annual renewal - and I'll renew.

    You'd think these charities would be smart enough to just give us that option to keep our money coming, because we want the money spent on the mission - but they don't.

    by Gustogirl on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:48:06 AM PDT

    •  Me too,

      and I return everything marked "return to sender". It especially upsets me when I get all this mail from poor Indian children with a nickle enclosed. I think with all those nickles they send out they could probably stop asking for money and fund their own cause. Just think, the nickle and cost of postage, even at a bulk rate it has to cost them at least $.25. Just four of those letter = $1.00, a thousand =$250.00, hell that is more than I could ever send. I do my part I sent them their nickle back.

      by Vera Lofaro on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:33:43 AM PDT

    •  Add the DNC to that list.

      I stopped handing out $50 checks to my favority political causes because I have a son in college, and he needs the money more than they do.  Still, my phone rings off the hook, and my mailbox is chock full of requests for donations to every liberal cause under the sun.  I think the next time the DSCC/DCCC call me, I might mention something about standing up to Bush, but my position on who needs the money more still stands.  You'd think that would be good enough for them, but nooooooooooooooo.  They continue to beg and plead until I hang up the phone.  Enough already!

      by republicans are idiots on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:40:08 AM PDT

  •  But now you have

    plenty of address labels for your outgoing mail. Right?

    by aggressiveprogressive on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:09:48 AM PDT

    •  No shit.

      I'm never ever going to be able to sell my house, purely out of guilt for wasting all the address labels I've gotten. And I hardly even send postal mail!

      by pattyp on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 11:05:16 AM PDT

    •  Except that they all say "Mrs. [my name]"

      Thanks for assuming I'm married, jackass. Just because a woman took your phone call and made a pledge doesn't mean a husband had to give her permission to do it.

      And of course, all of them have to be shredded, which in my house is an adventure, and thrown into the trash, because I don't think I can recycle stickers.

      by maralenenok on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 11:47:40 AM PDT

  •  That and Political donations

    It seems that candidates that I drop only $10 to online end up spendindg at least that by mailing me crap for the next 4 years.

    by ETinKC on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:10:33 AM PDT

•  Similar to another existing organization:

  http://www.greendimes.com

  Thanks for the information, kos.

  by StrangeAnimals on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:35:23 AM PDT

  •  I love Green Dimes

    cuz they don't just stop catalogs but they go after the credit card offers and other crap that used to end up in my mail box.

    by Mber on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:39:11 AM PDT

    •  Green Dimes is the way to go

      Easy to use and 100% effective.  I've also been giving it as a gift.

      http://www.greendimes.com/

      by Greg Stumbo on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:46:22 AM PDT

      •  Me too!

        A great gift idea!

        by Mber on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 11:15:28 AM PDT

      •  You've convinced me.

        I'll gladly spring $15 bucks to have only things I need arrive in my mailbox. I can barely manage my life as it is, and having to open two dozen envelopes a week really stresses me out. I procrastinate going to fetch my mail, which is just ridiculous.

        I used to dread the credit card offer and charity calls, too. I'd get one or two a day, on average. Now I screen all my calls. It works great.

        by maralenenok on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 11:54:44 AM PDT

        •  It takes a while for the mail to stop...

          and you have to build out your list of catalogs you want to rid yourself of, but once you're a member of greendimes they'll work with the DMA to stop the credit card offers, etc. But like I said, it takes up to 6 months before you'll see it end. So worth it.

          by Mber on Wed Oct 10, 2007 at 12:10:47 AM PDT

  •  LOVE THEM

    The volume of catalogs and junkmail we get has been reduced dramatically since using them.

    You've got to keep up with it a while (adding catalogs, junk mail, etc...)

    but it really works!

    by wclathe on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:22:29 AM PDT

•  Wow, thanks

  this is a great tool.  I have been wondering about this since moving and the avalanche slowly of garbage climbed.  Now, I can do something about it!

  by Prof Dave on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:35:30 AM PDT

•  Anyone want pecans?

  I've received three catalogs over the last three months from the same damned company...the same exact catalog. I will definitely be going that link. Thanks for posting it.

  by Spathiphyllum on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:36:21 AM PDT

  •  LOL

    That's me an the Hallmark Fall catalog.  I've received it every other day for the last 3 weeks.  My mailman has even taken note.  On Sat. I was outside and I went to get the mail and he said, "Oh.  No mail for you!  Unless...you want another Hallmark catalog?"  LOL

    by fabooj on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:22:46 AM PDT

•  Here is a one stop site

  for info on 'opting out' of many annoying issues-

  credit card solicitation

  magazines, catalogs and other junk mail lists.
  http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/...

  by Esjaydee on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:36:34 AM PDT

  •  OMG

    Thank you SO MUCH!!  I just posted a comment complaining about credit card offers and then saw this.  I have now removed my name from the list!!  This made my day.

    by angelmom on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:45:02 AM PDT

    •  you're welcome.

      by Esjaydee on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 06:11:34 PM PDT

•  My biggest concern....

  is hiding them from my wife.

  Hmmm...I guess this could help with that as well.

  Thanks, Kos!!

  by Azdak on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:37:03 AM PDT

  •  Mine gets positively upset

    when I don't pass all of this on to her - she doesn't really buy much from them, but she likes to browse them.  Still not worth the environmental cost...

    by Prof Dave on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:41:11 AM PDT

    •  As a new teacher, right now.....

      she hasn't had time to notice that the empty cereal boxes in the recyling bin are awfully heavy...;-)

      by Azdak on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:49:58 AM PDT

•  PS. Architectural Digest is garbage.

  If you want a better/decent architecture/design mag, subscribe to Arch. Record, Interior Design, Dwell, or Metropolis.

  Non-designers would probably like Dwell.

  by Tony Soprano on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:37:06 AM PDT

  •  I let Architectural Digest lapse

    I've been checking out Interior Design, but haven't sprung for a subscription yet.

    by kos on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:42:44 AM PDT

    •  Yeah, ID is OK, but a bit mafioso...

      Being from the industry, we've had bad experiences with them. They tend to re-run the same designers... it's all about star power. And their articles seem to be written by high school students (though that's a common problem these days).

      I've always liked Dwell and thought other enlightened folk would too. You can check it out at google. I remember seeing a consistent stream of green articles in there but we stopped getting it at the studio for some reason.

      But for anyone really interested in architecture from more than a home furnishings standpoint (ie the industry), Arch Record has always been the standard (least before they bought out Architecture). And Metropolis is a good overview of design in general.

      G'luck and it's great to hear that people still have an interest in the world that's built around them.

      by Tony Soprano on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:49:59 AM PDT

      •  Wow

        You know it's bad when Tony Soprano is complaining about something being too mafioso.

        by Elias on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:09:22 AM PDT

        •  You aint seen a mafia

          until you get a peak at these industry clicks. It's not so much the truly talented designers themselves, but the trade/manufacturing industry and less talented fish that feed off of them. It's like those fish on the backs of sharks.

          Lemme tell ya. And there are subsets. I never even knew there was such a thing as a gay mafia until I got into this bizz. Who knew?! Funny stuff. In the end, the relevant designers don't play those games, and their cream rises to the top regardless. They just do the work and all the blah blah is for other people to worry about.

          by Tony Soprano on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:27:09 AM PDT

      •  Interesting

        I thought it was just me.  I like architecture and design (the genre that is), but when I read ID, I feel like it's People magazine for interior designers.  It's somewhat staid, IMO.  I mean, it was cool the first few times, but even I noticed the same people popping up over and over and over, and I'm not a regular reader.  It's only worse because, I don't necessarily like their styles.

        Dwell (after 4 years, I finally got a subscription that I totally regret), is okay.  I first resisted a subscription because of price, then because I didn't have the space to do anything anyway.  Then they started writing more good and interesting eco articles, hooked me.  Unfortunately, the magazine is closer to Vanity Fair with all the ads.  I mean, yay, they print on recycled paper, but the magazine has doubled in size in the last year and a half!

        I like Metropolis, but for some reason the local newsstands charge $8 per copy.  My only problem is that I find it to be a bit overdone at times.  Like Better Homes and Gardens (yes, I went there) on steriods.  

        by fabooj on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:30:39 AM PDT

        •  Too bad about the ads.

          I hate ripping out all those cards in Arch Record just so I can flip through in any sort of normal way. Fortunately we get the journals for free at the studio... otherwise, no way I'd pay for any of em. I'd just read what's available at their websites.

          by Tony Soprano on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 02:03:19 PM PDT

  •  Dwell rocks!

    Yeah, Dwell is my fave!

    by zakzoah on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:57:32 AM PDT

    •  Yeah, I just went over there

      to check out the website I was recommending and their list of editors and such are... totally hot.

      I was in the blog, and then linked to their list, which shows all their people's photos. BABES!

      I guess the guys are decent too for the other team.

      Suzanne LaGasa: Hottie!

      Hmmm, somehow I went there to look for green articles (plenty) and wound up falling in love with Suzanne.

      I think I need a date.

      by Tony Soprano on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:00:40 AM PDT

•  Gosh, it is awful.

  They go straight back to the curb for the recycling truck.  It is sick.

  But I can't seem to get past step 2 for some reason...did we break it?

  by mem from somerville on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:37:10 AM PDT

  •  I can't either

    by Katzy on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:38:17 AM PDT

  •  Also having trouble.

    Possibly because 90,000 Kossacks are all trying to sign up at the same time. Tee hee.

    by pattyp on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:42:37 AM PDT

    •  Instead of SlashDotting ...

      we're DailyKos-ing.

      by admiralh on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:06:35 AM PDT

  •  We're a freakin' thundering herd ...

    taking out websites as we charge along.

    I can't get past Step 2 either.

    by SusanG on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:45:23 AM PDT

  •  At least

    you HAVE a recycling truck.  My small town decided that curbside recycling was just too much effort because "nobody was using it" (could have fooled me; EVERYONE on MY street was using it).  It took me two months to find the ONE set of recycling bins still being maintained, and I have to pack everything up and cart it down there.

    by cynndara on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:34:31 AM PDT

    •  FWIW

      I did an internship thing in college with local government.  Recycling was a hot topic.  The problem most municipalities face is that it costs more to recycle than the return from sale of the recycled materials.  There may be an overall environmental benefit in a global sense, but as a matter of pure city economics, they spend $$$ to collect and recycle, and only get back $ by selling the recycled materials.  It's a net loss to the city, and there's always pressure to get rid of recycling.  Your community's experience may vary, though.

      by milton333 on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 11:35:42 AM PDT

•  As annoying as catalogs

  are the endless credit card solicitations.  At least with catalogs you can just dump them in the recycling bin.  With the STACKS of credit card solicitations I get every week I feel compelled to open them and shred the application form that has my name on it.  Recently I started to write on them to remove me from their list and put the form back in the pre-paid envelope.  Let the jerks pay for the postage and not get a new customer.  

  I recently checked my credit and the number of inquiries for credit cards is mind-boggling.  Anyone know a way to get removed from these lists??

  by angelmom on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:37:23 AM PDT

  •  OptOutPrescreen

    Try
    https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ .

    It's a way to opt out of prescreened offers that's run by the credit reporting agencies.

    by zakzoah on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:49:46 AM PDT

    •  Great...thanks

      And I saw in another comment that you can call 888-567-8688, which I did.  It is an automated line to be removed for 5 years.  I'll try the website too, get the bastards coming and going!!

      by angelmom on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:10:20 AM PDT

  •  I wrote to Capital One

    And told them to stop sending me shit.

    Guess what? They did.

    I don't seem to be getting any cc solicitations these days.

    Now if I could only get my alma maters to stop trying to sell me life insurance...

    by tethys on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 11:08:14 AM PDT

•  Right on, Kos. Right on. n/t

  by ReadyForChange on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:37:34 AM PDT

•  Thank you

  I receive about 20 per month and I recycle them all. I am grateful for any solution to this. Mom sent my wife a subscription to a furnishings catalog and we now get, it seems, everyone ever printed. OUTTTTA CONTROL it is!

  by ToxicTidepool on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:38:01 AM PDT

  •  I think the worst is

    Restoration Hardware.

    I ordered some little things from them (online) at Christmas. Now I get every catalog they have, sometimes multiples, and there is no f***ing way I can afford ANYTHING they have in there other than little things.

    2k for a table? 4k for a dresser? It's lovely stuff, but I'd be afraid to use it. Nor do I have 10k to spend on ONE room of furniture.

    I don't mind one catalog - but it's not just one from them. It's about 10. In a couple months.

    I actually don't mind some of the catalogs, and I do use them - I make notes on them, check prices between various catalogs, etc. It's easier for me to do that on paper than online. I don't order from the catalogs though, I order online. But I DO use the cust/promotion # they put on the catalogs, so they know I'm using it.

    by mmacdDE on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:05:54 AM PDT

    •  Crate & Barrel

      I get a copy of the regular C&B catalog and CB2 catalog  under my name (maiden), my name (married), my name hyphenated, our business name, my husband's name, and under our initials.  That's 12 magazines right there.  They don't even come at the same time!  

      What really sucks for me is that I also get catalogs from West Elm, Pier 1, CostPlus, Rhoom, Room Service and Modernica just since we bought our new place.  I did buy an item or two from each place, but only West Elm delivered to my house.  I have no idea how or why I'm getting the rest of the catalogs, as I never disclosed my address.

      by fabooj on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:39:37 AM PDT

      •  I love their catalogs, but I'm pretty sure

        they don't need to send me one every month, considering that maybe each one contains one new item.

        by maralenenok on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 12:11:01 PM PDT

        •  Yep

          Just the one new item. I was flipping through the new CB2 and happened to have one from last year nearby.  I decided to compare some of the rooms.  The prices for some items have risen, while other fell, but there wasn't any new item in the 3 rooms I checked.  One chair now comes in red.  That's about it.

          by fabooj on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 12:30:50 PM PDT

  •  See my math above!...

    by Mogolori on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:20:03 AM PDT

•  There's a magazine

  called "Bicycling and Recording and Architectural Digest"?  Talk about eclectic!  By the way, thanks for this info!

  by ramjet on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:38:34 AM PDT

  •  Yeah, these trade journals sure do

    get crazy specific. It's out of control.

    by Tony Soprano on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:42:19 AM PDT

  •  I think he conjoined 3 separate mags n/t

    by Prof Dave on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:42:41 AM PDT

•  Don't diss the V.S. catalog...

  I get it for the articles.

  by GTPinNJ on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:39:00 AM PDT

  •  yah but

    check out the articles online.  

    by Must Have Been The Roses on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:56:40 AM PDT

•  Attention CIA

  order Bin Ladin something from L.L.Bean then just follow the mailman. You'll have him.

  by oldnavigator on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:39:18 AM PDT

  •  Yeah... if Bush has a problem hiring translators,

    I'm sure he can get some trashy people from his base that would love to spend all day shopping for a living.

    They could color coordinate, or whatever it is these people do with their time.

    by Tony Soprano on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:44:42 AM PDT

  •  How would one do a cave

    in mid-century modern?

    by Mogolori on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:21:04 AM PDT

  •  The Victoria's Secret catalog is his fave (nt)

    by kurt on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 02:07:32 PM PDT

•  Every, every, every time I order something online

  I end up on countless catalog mailing lists.  It drives me nuts.  Thank you so much for this link.

  by whyvee on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:39:31 AM PDT

•  What about phone books?

  How many freaking people make Yellow pages these days? It seems like every other month or so I get phone books delivered to my porch. I never, ever use them. They go directly to recycling.

  hink

  by MrHinkyDink on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:40:07 AM PDT

  •  Tip:

    Keep one of the extra phone books in your car. It really comes in handy when you're trying to find a business, restaurant, etc. and forgot to bring directions with you, or just decide on a whim that you want to go someplace.

    by pattyp on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:45:12 AM PDT

    •  that might be fine for a city

      but I'm in a relatively small town - if I want to find something, it's pretty easy to find it. And if I'm out of town, my local phone book isn't going to be much help.

      by mmacdDE on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:07:21 AM PDT

      •  Oh well.

        Just a suggestion. It helps me a lot since I live in a relatively expansive suburban area. Maybe you can just call the fake yellow pages people and ask them to take you off their distribution list.

        by pattyp on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:38:28 AM PDT

    •  Or you can use a GPS

      That's what I do...or you can just ask a local.  That's another thing I do.

      by fabooj on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:40:44 AM PDT

•  Another idea

  I used to get Yes magazine which on the back talked about how much water, electricty, trees etc were saved because they used 100% recycled paper.  I wish more (all) magazines would do this, as Yes Magazine with its small readership saves a small amount of resources, but the savings if Newsweek, Time etc got onboard would be enormous.  

  I wish this would also be used for all the catalogues too as a hge % of them must go straight into the lanfill.

  by Hotspur18 on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:40:15 AM PDT

•  Wife and I have different, difficult last names

  so not only do we each get a catalog, we each get a copy of a catalog for each misspelling.  Four of the same Land's End catalog just arrived.  I go to the list every six months.

  by Inland on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:40:21 AM PDT

  •  "strange" names

    I know... and then they come up with a NEW misspelling, and you have to go get that one taken off, too.

    And somehow the credit card companies get that misspelling, and it ends up on your credit report - I think I have 3-4 different versions of my name attached to mine. Try getting that corrected... bunch of asshats at the credit reporting companies take it off, then pop it right back on.

    by Lashe on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:52:36 AM PDT

  •  Ha

    My husband's last name sounds Italian, so somehow we get on all kinds of Italian mailing lists.  We get the most obscure catalogs.  I mean things that sell like replication of city seals and crap.

    I'm also black, so there's a whole other level of niche marketing there.  Literature, religion, body care products, etc...

    by fabooj on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:43:22 AM PDT

  •  call Lands End

    and tell them you're getting multiple catalogs. Have the 4 catalogs available as they need the C#'s from the back cover. Also, tell them to apply "Do not rent' to your address so they won't give it out to other companies. Mention they're misspelling both last names so they can correct that too. I used to work for them. Man, I'm glad I won't be getting your call! The rep will be busy fixing all that crap.

    by MadMs on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 11:01:09 AM PDT

•  Statewide Registry

  The Washington State Legislature recently tried to set up a "Do Not Call"-type registry to opt-out of catalogs.  Unfortunately, the Letter Carriers Union was opposed, and the state AFL-CIO had the bill killed.

  by jeffman on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:40:58 AM PDT

  •  Weird.

    I've seen a number of neighborhood mailmen retire from repetitive-motion injuries, we think, in large part because of the burden of junk (type) mail.  I don't think they would share the opinion that they don't want it to just go away.

    Undoubtedly the amount of work, or revenue, was involved in the union's position.  But we should, IMHO, at least start by chargining much, much more for bulk mail.  If not continually trying to implement what you describe.

    by potownman on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:15:21 AM PDT

•  Is anyone else havin trouble getting past step 2?

  I notice that clicking the "Go to Step 3" button doesn't do anything; and in the status bar of IE, it just has the Catalog Choice URL plus a # sign. Help!

  by boofdah on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:41:26 AM PDT

  •  same here

    I can't get it work either

    by Must Have Been The Roses on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:50:20 AM PDT

    •  I think I've found the problem.

      I'm typing on my husband's computer now, and he has IE6--I just tried visiting that site again, and it works fine on IE6. If you're using IE7 (a piece of royal crap IMO), which my computer unluckily has, the site is shit outta luck.

      by boofdah on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 11:19:18 PM PDT

•  I completely agree. I remember when we were told

  that computers, emails, etc will greatly reduce the use of papers thereby helping preserve the rain forest and environment. The reverse is the case. We use more paper and kill more trees now than we ever did.

  We can do better. Let’s make it an issue in this election cycle.

  by ameri on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:42:37 AM PDT

•  May I suggest a Cosmo Kramer approach?

  Bring them all back to Pottery Barn.  :)

  by Drgrishka1 on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:43:49 AM PDT

•  In a former life

  working in print retail marketing, I would both buy and sell those lists. They are huge money makers. Is there a way to opt out of junk mail like the telemarketing list?

  by shaharazade on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:44:19 AM PDT

  •  Hey Kos

    just hope your children move out of the house before they go into a job that requires special equiptment. Our daughter is a firefighter. Do you have any idea how many catalogs there are on equiptment, cloths, seminars? They order something then move out of the house. Change of address doesn't work with catlogs. We not only get this crap for us, we still get it for our children, and we have 4.

    by cpresley on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:52:20 AM PDT

    •  And it takes years to go away

      when my daughter was in HS, one of her teachers had them do a project on junk mail. They filled out some catalog request at the beginning of the term, and tracked how much extraneous garbage it generated.

      For years and years I was getting stuff for Juanita Caballero...

      by mmacdDE on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:09:52 AM PDT

    •  Change of address does work on catalogs

      You just have to specify them.  You can do it online or on the paper card.  Believe me.  I just went through that horror with 5 names and two business names.  It sucks, but it works.

      by fabooj on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:44:45 AM PDT

  •  Do it from the

    Direct Marketing Association Web site.

    by Smallbottle on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:03:06 AM PDT

•  Move to Rota

  Direct mail doesn't make it that far.

  And as a bonus, every package you get is equipped with at least 6 cocroaches.

  But seriously, thanks for that tip. When Suz and I got back and picked up our USA mail, we had about 10 pounds of junk and about 10 ounces of real mail.

  ::::

  by nowheredesign on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:45:01 AM PDT

•  I live in a state, Maine, where trees for paper

  are grown on tree farms, just like wheat for bread is grown on wheat farms. Many jobs are generated by our tree farming industry, and no old growth trees are harmed. You could say, "save the wheat, don't eat bread," and it would be analagous to, "save a tree, don't use paper." Admittedly, there is a LOT of waste, both energy and raw materials, in the ad business, but being green doesn't necessarily imply that one should not use paper.

  by Rumarhazzit on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:45:16 AM PDT

  •  well

    I don't think anyone is saying don't use paper.

    What they are saying is don't waste paper. i.e., don't send me something I didn't request and am not going to look at. And, no, don't do it 3 times a week, either.

    by Politburo on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:21:44 AM PDT

  •  And given that most USPS employees

    are union members likely voting Dem, it will have a direct impact on their livelihood as direct mail (standard/bulk/junk) is the vast majority of the the service's volume.  Will it have an impact on their political worldview?

    Paper pulp in Oregon is generally produced either from pulp tree farms or by using the byproduct of the milling process and recycling.

    I personally receive zero junk mail because I don't buy "stuff" and when I do I use cash and never give my name.  Each to his own though, but remember every purchase is connected and has consequences.

    by rrheard on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:26:33 AM PDT

    •  Letter carriers walk the same route...

      ... whether the bag is full or empty.  

      I don't think they feel that good about carrying pounds of stuff that goes straight into the trash.

      by kurt on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 02:11:50 PM PDT

      •  As former Postal employee all I have to say

        is route consolidation.  Less mail, means less office time, means more time on street, means less carriers covering more ground.

        I'm no fan of bulk mail, but significantly decreasing volumes is a double edged sword.  That's all I'm sayin.

        by rrheard on Thu Oct 11, 2007 at 10:28:38 AM PDT

  •  Grow fruit trees instead

    by shpilk on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:31:29 AM PDT

•  Interesting idea if it worked - can't get past

  step 2

  by Cantinflas on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:45:30 AM PDT

•  Great idea - but link doesn' work

  I couldn't get past step 2 in the sign up process.  Too bad they just blew some free Kos publicity.  

  by danwendi on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:45:36 AM PDT

•  Their site must be puking...

  The sign-up throws 404s (The page you were looking for doesn't exist.)

  by dj angst on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:45:42 AM PDT

•  And I don't need 4-6 "Yellow Pages" per year

  either!  I swear, now that there are competing "yellow" books, I get them every other month.  It is such an incredible waste that it is hard to wrap my mind around.

  And about that junk mail, 1-800-OPT-OUT will stop all those credit card offers.  Unfortunately, you probably have to contact each of the catalog providers to get out of those.

  by Scout Finch on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:46:19 AM PDT

  •  Edit:

    Duh.....Catalog choice link above.  Terrific stuff Kos.

    by Scout Finch on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:47:54 AM PDT

  •  Testing

    Testing Testing Testing Testing

    by Moprit on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:24:29 AM PDT

    •  What are you testing?

      by Scout Finch on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:42:39 AM PDT

    •  Hello, uh hello

      Is this thing on?

      One, two  .. thaaaaa reeeee !!!

      by shpilk on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:44:27 AM PDT

•  Totally going to do this!

  Thanks for the info, Markos!

  It really is amazing-- the crap you get because you asked for ONE particular thing...

  by mommyof3 on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:46:22 AM PDT

  •  okay... maybe later today...

    I think we overloaded the system!  :-)

    by mommyof3 on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:47:57 AM PDT

•  Idea ?

  Make them pay first class postage rates and watch em stop. Although that would take congress, and we all know that story.

  by oldnavigator on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 09:46:30 AM PDT

  •  Yeah, then watch the layoffs

    by Smallbottle on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:04:04 AM PDT

    •  The PO pays massive overtime

      at least around here .. and they hire tons of contract workers, temps. At least at our local PO, there would be few layoffs. Less hiring of temps, and less OT. Reduced overhead costs.

      The companies that make these catalogs having to lay off people? Sorry, subsidizing people by destroying natural resources doesn't quite wash.

      by shpilk on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:36:32 AM PDT

      •  Good for you!

        Ready to sacrifice your job for the cause!

        by Smallbottle on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:43:59 AM PDT

  •  It might not even take Congress.

    There is an independent agency that supervises postal rates.  In practice, of course, they'd never do such a thing.

    by ohwilleke on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:07:17 AM PDT

  •  That's a problem

    Already, there is an effort being pushed through by major publishers to make everyone pay the same postage rate for magazines.  Unfortunately, what's good for the big guys will ding the little guys pretty bad.  

    I assume the same would effect retailers.  I have a catalog that only goes out to people who request it and those who've purchased my items.  My catalog only goes out 4 times a year, so it's not that burdensome.  If I had a to pay first class postage on them vs. bulk rate, if my math is correct (and I won't guarantee that it is, as I don't fully get the USPS pricing), my rates would rise close to $1.20 per piece.  That could cause a significant problem and I'd have to raise the costs of my products.

    by fabooj on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 10:49:23 AM PDT

•  Is anyone else having a problem with Step 3?

  I go through steps one and two, then it hangs up when I click on "go to step 3".

  by lineatus