By Michele Byers
A few weeks ago, my mailbox exploded.
No, it wasn’t a cherry bomb. It was something far more insidious catalogs! As the holiday season approached, my normally tidy mailbox was suddenly crammed with advertisements and catalogs on a daily basis.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, 19 billion catalogs are mailed each year to American consumers. That means 53 million trees, 3.6 million tons of paper and 38 trillion BTUs (enough to power 1.2 million homes) are used to produce the advertising. More than 5 million tons of carbon dioxide are emitted (equal to 2 million cars) and 53 billion gallons of wastewater are discharged (enough to fill 81,000 Olympic-size swimming pools).
Clearly, it would be better for us, our mailboxes and our planet if we generated less waste paper. So how can we stem this glossy tide flowing into our mailboxes?
One way is to eliminate most catalog mailings by registering with the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service (MPS). Most reputable companies check the MPS for names to exclude from their mailings. You can find the details at www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html, or by calling the DMA at 212-768-7277.
You can also try Catalog Choice (catalogchoice.org). When you register online and decline specific catalogs from its list, it contacts the merchants to request your name be dropped from mailing lists. You also can use the direct approach: With a simple phone call to a company’s customer service department you often can remove yourself from its mailing list, receive catalogs less frequently, eliminate duplicate mailings or switch to e-mail. You also can request that it not share your information with other marketers.
Don’t be shy about asking your favorite catalog companies to use recycled paper and responsible forestry practices. Some already do, but others haven’t yet seen the light.
ForestEthics has rated companies on the eco-friendliness of their holiday catalogs, labeling them “naughty,” “nice” or “checking twice.” Receiving a lump of coal, for example, was Sears, for its 200-page Wishbook catalog. Critics claimed the paper for the catalog comes almost entirely from threatened forests, including (ironically enough) habitat for reindeer! Merchants such as Victoria’s Secret, which faced similar criticism in the past, are now on the “nice” list. With prodding from customers, other retailers can be motivated to improve.
If you can’t opt out of all holiday catalogs, recycle them, either through local collection programs or more creatively. For example, use catalog pages to make colorful envelopes for holiday cards by downloading a free template from thisrecycledlife.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/recycled-junk-mail.pdf. Or make a fun bead necklace with your kids. Cut 20 to 30 small, colorful triangles (three-quarter inch at the bottom and 4 to 5 inches tall) out of catalogs; wrap them tightly around a toothpick and glue the tip down; when they dry, pull out the toothpick and string the “beads” on yarn or thread. You’ll end up with a fun craft and a great gift.
Minimizing the amount of junk mail and catalogs you receive is good stewardship of our Earth’s resources, plain and simple. And through the trees and forests it saves, it is a gift that can keep on giving all year long.
Michele Byers is executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. For more information, contact her at [email protected], or visit NJCF’s Web site at www.njconservation.org.

