Get Cleaner and Greener ASAP, For Your Own Sake

For as long as I can remember, legislation that would either lead to a law similar to the “do-not-call” law or that would require mailers to get consumers’ approval before sending them catalogs has been like one of those disasters you only see in the movies or TV. It could never happen in real life, no way. There often have been flashes of “do-not-mail” bill proposals, but nothing has ever become of it.

Such a law is one of the biggest reasons American catalogers don’t try to mail in countries like Italy and parts of China, both of which specifically require prior consent in order to mail to prospects. Other countries, such as Germany, Austria and Portugal, have laws that require commercial mailers to have do-not-mail suppression lists.

But perhaps nearly as shocking as the N.Y. Mets’ historic collapse this month (I’ll get over it eventually, but it’s sure not easy working for a Philadelphia-based company), “do-not-mail” legislation is building up some steam in a growing number of U.S. states. And as momentum builds, and more consumer and environmental advocacy organizations jump on the bandwagon to lobby in Washington, for do-not-mail legislation, the threat becomes very real.

It’s easy to pooh-pooh bills that are proposed in only a few states considering all that’s needed for a federal law to be passed. Just 15 states proposed do-not-mail bills in 2007; eight will propose such legislation when the new Congress starts in 2008, although more are expected to follow suit next year. Still, this is a matter you can’t pooh-pooh. And as of this writing, 57 percent of those who voted in our current Web poll said they were unaware of this threat. (If you haven’t cast your vote yet, please go to the upper right corner of our home page and do so; hopefully more of you are, in fact, aware of it and are doing something about it.)

Remarkably Elementary?

But it seems like a sizeable number of catalogers — and particularly, direct mailers in general — continue to take the issues of overmailing and the environment too lightly. I particularly was blown away as I listened to a session at the NEMOA conference in Portland, Maine, a couple of weeks ago given by Anita Pursley and Joe Schick, the longtime postal gurus for the catalog printers Quebecor World and Quad/Graphics, respectively.

Both were asked to discuss the current state of affairs regarding the Postal Service, threats of future rate hikes, and the effect of postal reform and other legislation on catalogers. I’ve heard both Pursley and Schick speak countless times at assorted postal events, particularly the quarterly Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meetings in Washington, where their reports on mailer industry group postal projects often would fly right over my head.

But among other topics she discussed, Pursley touched on some fairly basic ways catalogers could be doing better with their mailing list hygiene to ward off do-not-mail legislation. As I sat there, I felt like I could’ve been at a NEMOA or DMA event from about 1990 or thereabouts. The mere fact that she had to point out such problems, presumably basing her remarks on what she experiences day-in, day-out from her own clients, just totally blew my mind — that such matters as address hygiene are still a serious problem in 2007!

Mind you, in no way am I criticizing Anita’s or Joe’s presentations, both of which were first-rate as always. Rather, I feel it’s my job in these columns to yell out to readers, “Hello? Are you kidding me???” With all the advancements in data intelligence and merge/purge, and all the available address correction services out there, why is it we still can’t get this right?

Don’t Get ‘Busted’

If it takes a scare like do-not-mail legislation to ignite mailers to do something about their own address hygiene, there’s no time like the present. Pat Kachura, the DMA’s ethics and consumer affairs expert and Catalog Success’ privacy columnist, tells me that advocacy groups, such as GreenDimes, Junkbusters and StopTheJunkMail.com, use assorted means to entice consumers to sign up with their causes. Many of these and other groups actually charge consumers a fee — but plenty of consumers are willing to pay.

GreenDimes, for instance, which charges $15 a year, gets members’ names off mailing lists and promises to plant trees. With actor Matt Damon on its board, it has a petition going around that already has collected 9,000 signatures, Kachura says. And it’s all with the intent of getting Congress to support a do-not-mail effort.

Preventative Measures

Pat recommends catalogers jump on the following matters to ward off do-not-mail legislation.

1. Take opt-outs more seriously.

2. Make it easier for consumers to get off your mailing lists. “One of the constant issues we have,” Kachura says, “is that although a mailer may take a customer off its list, it may not take that customer off its prospect list for a future mailing. So we suggest that catalogers make it very easy for consumers to opt off their lists altogether.”

3. Give customers the ability to choose how often they receive your catalog. “So many consumers say they do want to hear from catalogers,” Kachura notes — “but not every week. Some want a catalog every month. Some just want the Christmas issue or only those catalogs that have to do with a certain product category. It seems that the more choices catalogers can give consumers, the more relevant the offers will be and the less consumers will be concerned about the abundance of mail they receive.”

4. Better educate your customers about catalogs and the environment. A recent survey showed 77 percent of newspapers get recycled, but just 30 percent of recyclable catalogs are recycled. More catalogers need to encourage customers to either try to pass along their catalogs to friends or to put their books in recycle bins.

5. Clarify address privacy and identity theft. When it comes to privacy, Kachura says consumers primarily are concerned that their names and addresses being affixed to catalog covers can lead to identity theft. But just 4 percent of identity theft is due to commercial mailings. Catalogers need to do a better job communicating with customers that this is a safe way to shop.

6. Warn consumers that if a do-not-mail bill were to become reality, it would devastate postal volume to the point that the price of stamps would shoot through the roof, Saturday home delivery would become a thing of the past, and more and more small, local post offices would have to be closed.

Similar to Mail Preference, but Potentially Disastrous

The do-not-call law requires consumers to take the initiative to ask that they not be contacted by telemarketers. A do-not-mail bill would work similarly, which in turn is consistent with the DMA’s long-running Mail Preference Service. So why be alarmed? Because, as Kachura points out, when an industry self-regulation evolves into law, there’s no telling how severe the law could become. And requiring mailers to get approval from prospects prior to mailing them for the first time could easily become part of such a law.

There are other alternatives. Certainly not many catalog companies have the funds to do what the electronics superstore chain Circuit City Stores does, but consider this: Since May, Circuit City has teamed up with the nonprofit Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. to distribute dead battery collection bags to consumers for recycling. This effectively educates consumers on the importance of protecting the environment and puts consumers right in the middle of an extensive environmental campaign. In September and October, Circuit City distributed collection bags to the 250,000 customers who placed orders online.

Certainly, there are several catalog recycling programs catalogers could act on that are comparable to Circuit City’s battery program. What’s yours?