Special Report: Sustainability & the Environment

Environmental groups Catalog Choice and ForestEthics are hot on catalogers’ tails. So are state governments, with 18 do-not-mail bills under review in 15 states as of the beginning of this year. As if catalogers didn’t have enough adversity — with postage on the rise again and the economy on the fall — they can’t afford to take the issue of environmentalism and sustainability lightly much longer.

That’s why we’ve devoted the cover section to this hot topic.

Consider the most recent events:

• On Oct. 9, 2007, relative newcomer Catalog Choice unveiled its free, Web-based service to encourage consumers to opt out of the catalogs they no longer wish to receive. The names are then sent to the respective catalogers to be removed from their mailing lists.

Although Catalog Choice is another in a long line of organizations such as GreenDimes.com, 41pounds.org, ProQuo and CatalogEnd, it got considerably more ink in the mainstream media than its predecessors.

While quick to point out that Catalog Choice doesn’t sponsor or support do-not-mail legislation, Project Director April Smith says the goal “is to provide the consumer with a convenient and free way to express their mail preferences. To reduce the number of unwanted catalogs they receive in the mail.” Smith worked with the National Wildlife Federation (one of the founders of Catalog Choice) in a consulting role regarding forestry and paper-related projects prior to joining Catalog Choice full time this past November.

• On March 11, 2008, the five-year anniversary of the National Do Not Call Registry, ForestEthics launched its own do-not-mail campaign to stop “junk mail.” Modeled after Do Not Call, the campaign seeks to honor consumers’ rights to choose what mail they receive by creating a registry where they can opt out of receiving all direct mail, catalogs included.

“Americans want a choice to be able to control a relationship they’re telling us they don’t want and never asked for,” says ForestEthics spokesperson Will Craven.

Putting Up a Fight
As positive a spin as the green groups put on their efforts, certain issues will be debated for some time:

• How are names that were collected from third-party organizations verified?

• How do these groups justify the tremendous job losses that will occur if their efforts are successful?

The Direct Marketing Association has attempted to lead a cataloger resistance. Newcomer American Catalog Mailer's Association, which was founded primarily to keep postal rate increases in check, is also looking to help its small but growing membership. The overriding rallying cry has been for industry self-regulation as a safeguard against the antagonistic third-party organizations or government legislation.

The DMA took its first step toward self-regulation with its Green 15 initiative introduced in May 2007. Since that time, all members of the organization have been required to implement and benchmark a set of 15 baseline business practices that deliver environmental benefits.

Areas covered in the 15 initiatives include paper procurement and use; list hygiene and data management; mail design and production; packaging; and recycling and pollution reduction.

The DMA has revamped and renamed its mail preference service (MPS) to DMAChoice. It still allows consumers to manage their mail preferences by opting out of or into mailing lists, but they no longer have to pay a $1 verification fee.

“The DMAChoice service that exists today will continue very aggressively to evolve,” promised DMA President/CEO John Greco recently. Beyond waving the fee, the most noteworthy change has been the ability for consumers to opt out of individual catalog titles without dropping entire brands.

Tips From the Corner
What steps can catalogers/direct mailers take to make their mailing practices more environmentally sustainable? In addition to the other articles in this special report, we’ve compiled several tips obtained from catalogers, environmentalists and vendors.

• Understand who your suppliers are and where your paper comes from, says John Seebeck, direct marketing business director at Crate & Barrel. “Every single catalog we print is printed on FSC-certified paper,” he says, referring to the Forest Stewardship Council, an organization that promotes responsible management of the world’s forests.

• Set a benchmark standard for sustainability, says Smith of Catalog Choice.

• Take advantage of the growing popularity of e-commerce, including putting a copy of your catalog online, says Bill McCarthy, COO for the multichannel marketplace provider ShopLocal, whose catalog clients include Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Sears and JCPenney, among others.

• Use recycled paper for your catalogs if you don’t already, Seebeck advises.

• On your Web site, McCarthy suggests providing an e-mail option next to a mailing address form for catalog requests.

• Give customers the ability to opt down the frequency with which they receive catalogs, says Seebeck, instead of just a total opt-out.

• Examine the carbon footprint of your catalog, Smith advises. This measures the impact catalogs have on the environment with regard to the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.

• Consider environmental factors when sourcing for product, cautions Seebeck. For example, Crate & Barrel considers the source of wood that goes into the manufacturing of its products, particularly its furniture items. “Be very close to the supply chain of your product,” he cautions.

Practice Makes Perfect
Certain catalogers have heeded the call and made efforts to make their businesses more sustainable. For example, Cuddledown has added an environmental awareness notice to the back cover of its catalogs (see left) boasting of its use of recycled paper and the benefits of shopping by mail.

Crate & Barrel has spent the past year and a half gauging the impact of sales from customers to whom it mails fewer catalogs. “We continue to test our customers on the right mix of catalogs to drive sales from those customers, keep them informed of Crate & Barrel’s offerings and, at the same time, doing something that’s profitable for us,” Seebeck says. “We don’t want to mail customers who don’t want our catalogs.”

Crate & Barrel tested substituting e-mails for print catalogs. The company split its customers into groups of three. One group was mailed catalogs only; another e-mails only; and the third received a combination of the two. But the multichannel marketer concluded that e-mail wasn’t effective as a one-for-one substitute for catalogs. A mix of catalogs and e-mails generated the most effective response, according to Seebeck.

207 Comply
A growing number of mailers are complying with third-party environmental groups. On its Web site, Catalog Choice proudly recognizes the 207 merchants who’ve signed up for a merchant account and are honoring consumers’ opt-out requests.

ForestEthics has spotlighted Dell, Victoria’s Secret and Williams-Sonoma for their work in eliminating the use of endangered forests — most notably, the Canadian Boreal — for paper sourcing.

“All of us are forced to adapt to emerging economic and business trends,” Craven says. “Meeting consumer demand for more environmentally friendly practices and consumer control over receiving direct mail will simply force businesses to adapt.”

And by adapting to mounting consumer pressure to become more sustainable, catalogers have the ability to save costs and increase profits at the same time. A recent study from the marketing agency BBMG revealed that on average, nine out of 10 consumers (out of 2,007 respondents) are more likely to purchase from a “green” marketer than one who’s not, given the products are of equal quality and price. And the opportunity is there to reduce costs — both in the reduction of paper use and postage costs.

So while there may be some gnashing of teeth as catalogers adjust their practices to become more green, the positives — to both the environment and the bottom line — can be obtained in the long run.