Wed 13 Aug 2008
I hate junk mail. I'm sure you do too.
And so does the environment, according to the daily green:
A report by the group ForestEthics estimates that destroying forests to make paper for junk mail releases as much greenhouse gas pollution as 9 million cars.
Another way to look at it: Junk mail produces as much pollution as seven U.S. states combined, or as much as heating 13 million homes each winter.
Holy crap!
Fortunately, there are solutions:
- Do Not Mail
- Operated by the non-profit organization Forest Ethics, this is an online petition to stop junk mail.
- DMA's Mail Preference Service
- Just like email subscription preferences, this is the Direct Marketing Association's snail mail preferences. For a one-time $1 fee, they'll reduce most of your most junk mail.
- GreenDimes
- Created by the socially-conscious Tonic Generation, this for-profit business will remove you from junk mail lists for a one-time fee of $20, or $36 for an extra bundle that includes two CFL light bulbs, a re-usable shopping bag, a t-shirt, and a children's book. Or you can opt for a do-it-yourself guide that they'll send you - plus a $1 payment. Not bad!
If you hate junk mail as much as I do, maybe one of these solutions can help. Good luck!
August 13th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Just signed up for a GreenDimes account. Good resources!
August 14th, 2008 at 12:08 am
Thanks for the shout out on GreenDimes! I work for the company (and TONIC) and write our daily blog http://news.tonicgen.com/ - check it out. And, let me know if you have any questions about your junk mail reduction…
Best,
Dan
August 14th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Dan. I just signed up for a GreenDimes account too. Sounds like a great service! Fun blog too - turning asphalt into solar collectors sounds like a damn innovative idea. I really hope that idea works!
August 18th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
wwww.stopthejunkmail.com is also a service to help consumers cut down on the amount of unwanted junk mail. We have been in business since 2001 and have an extensive directory of catalogs and direct mail companies to select from.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Thanks for the note, Margotb! The more ways to stop junk mail, the better!
August 26th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I happen to be one of the owners of MyJunkTree and as a new company I search the web to see if we are getting any visibility out there and I post on relevant blogs.
We launched the company because we were tired of all the junk mail we were receiving and we personally did not want to bounce all over the web to contact all the different companies to stop it all. First and foremost we wanted to let people choose what they wanted to let come to their home knowing that some people really do like some of the coupons and catalogs. So our clients choose what they want stopped.
We also had to provide a service that is different than the other services out there, so here is what we offer:
1. We have a database of over 1300 catalogs that you can choose to stop.
2. We have over a 2000 charities/Non-Profits that you can stop solicitations from.
3. Stop the delivery of the national phone directories.
4. Stop the delivery of the weekly coupons.
5. Stop the general credit card offers as well as the ones from your own major bank.
6. Stop the miscellaneous junk mail from the data brokers.
7. You can register on the National Do Not Call Registry from the website.
8. You can order your no strings attached free annual credit report right from the website.
9. We plant trees with every new membership.
And, yes we are a paid service and yes you can do everything that we do for free, if you want to do all the research and spend the time contacting the companies yourself it can easily be done. We have just done all of the legwork for our clients and feel there is value in the service we provide.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Thanks for the note, Tim! $20 for a 3 year membership ain't a bad deal for all of those features. Nice!