Green Options » junk mail

Crafty Reuse: Your Guide to Junk Mail Crafts + Art

Becky Striepe — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:00:33 +0000

Rather than toss all those catalogs and offers into the recycle bin, you may as well take advantage of the free craft supplies!

Despite our best efforts to stop marketers from sending us junk mail, the stuff still seems to find its way into our mailbox. We use some of it for things like grocery lists and keeping score when playing Scrabble, but what to do with the rest? Here are some project ideas and junk mail art inspiration.

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Top 10 Ways To Go Paperless

Sonya — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:26:21 +0000

It can be challenging going paperless at home or work, right?

One Jackson Hole, Wyoming business, WordenGroup Strategic Public Relations, has announced a “Go Paperless” initiative for Arbor Day, April 24, 2009.

The company wants to reduce office paper flow and save trees in honor of the national tree planting holiday.

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The Twelve Days of sustainablog: Bibles, High Gas Prices, and Tent-based Traumas

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 03:42:23 +0000

While July 2008 looked relatively normal in terms of Fourth of July celebrations and hot weather, $4 per gallon gas put a damper on that other summertime staple: the family road trip.

As you might imagine, we had a lot to say about that gas thing… but didn’t take a vacation from covering a wide range of topics.

July 2008

Chad Crawford, our minister in residence, reviewed The Green Bible.
Raz Godelnik of Eco-Libris dug into another book: Paper Trails.
Robin Shreeves reported on a small town that found an innovative solution to big traffic problems: bike sharing.
Birgitte Rasine of LUCITA sent up a flare for paper shredders clogged with junk mail.

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10 Companies to Boycott for Sending You Junk Mail

Alex Felsinger — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:39:07 +0000

Conservation group ForestEthics has released their annual “Naughty or Nice” list of corporations regarding their treatment of our forests. These ten companies continue to fill your mailbox with junk at the expense of the trees.

The list, determined by four separate criteria, includes a “Checking Twice” category for companies in a gray area. JC Penny has decreased their direct mail use but still supports logging companies, so while they stay out the top 10 snail-mail-spammers, but still aren’t free of all charges.

Check out the rest of the list, along with 10 other companies who are being nice to the trees, below:

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Former Mailman in Federal Court Gets Probation for Refusing to Deliver Junk Mail

Jennifer Lance — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:29:20 +0000

Former mailman Steven Padgett received probation in federal court for failing to deliver years worth of junk mail. Although the mailman did not stop delivering junk mail based on the environmental impact of junk mail, which accounts for 30% of all US mail. He did it because he couldn’t keep up with the volume of mail he had to deliver and still maintain a personal relationship with the residents on his route. Even so, environmental groups, such as Forest Ethics, have supported Padgett. The federal court sentenced Padgett to three years probation, a $3,000 fine, and 500 hours of community service.

Via: News & Observer

Image: uzvards on Flickr under a Creative Commons License

Opt Out of Credit Card Offers to Reduce Junk Mail

Justin Van Kleeck — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:55 +0000

Sure, the American (and so the global) financial market is an absolute mess right now, largely because of dodgy credit and lending practices by major financial institutions. Sure, millions of Americans (and people across the globe) are buried in debt, be it a mortgage or a maxed-out credit card.

Despite these ominous signs of an economic storm on the horizon, credit card companies are more than ready to give you outrageously generous credit and a nice, shiny new plastic card. But wait, it gets better! Just sign up now, financial crisis or not, and you can get a year without interest, a new appliance or electronic gizmo, a trip to Cancun!

OK, maybe not those last two.

This scenario may well sound familiar for any of you who 1) have applied for or opened up a new credit card account at any point in your natural life and 2) receive postal mail in some manner. Despite the environmental crisis facing planet Earth, junk mail is far from being an endangered species of tree-killing pest. Along with catalogues, bills, advertisements, and other snail-mail SPAM you likely do not want, credit card offers contribute significantly to the paper used for junk (unsolicited) mail.

Fortunately for consumers and postal carriers, there is a way to free yourself from the avalanche of credit card offers and so help reduce the number of trees used for paper.

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Quick, Easy Ways to Reduce Junk Mail

Becky Striepe — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:00:22 +0000

[image via Vards Uzvards]

Americans receive the equivalent of over 100 million trees in the form of junk mail every single year. Most of these catalogues and offers that show up in our mailboxes don’t even warrant a second glance. They go straight into the trash or the recycle bin and on to the waste stream. Junk mail wastes our time and our resources.

The U.K.’s Royal Mail offers a door-to-door opt out system. Folks can just fill out a simple form requesting that mail carriers not leave bulk mailings in their boxes. In the U.S., we aren’t that lucky. There are a few things you can do, though, to slow down the needless flow of waste into your mailbox.

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ZapRoot: Plastic Trees and Sarah Palin

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:53:07 +0000

This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

From our friends at ZapRoot this week: Arizona tests artificial CO2 filtering trees. Sarah Palin loves oil. We help you find ways to get rid of your junk mail.

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100 Million Green Facts You Didn’t Know About Junk Mail

Sam Aola Ooko — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:59:12 +0000

100 Million Trees Are Cut Each Year to Generate Junk Mail
A report by ForestEthics, the nonprofit environmental organization whose mission is to protect endangered forests, has made a very startling revelation: that there are 100 million green reasons why junk mail are an annoying intrusion.

Not that the 100 billion pieces of junk mail Americans receive each year are irksome enough or that the emissions of junk mail are equal to those of over nine million cars or 51 million tons of greenhouse gases.

The group estimates that every year, more than 100 million trees are cut down to make junk mail - the equivalent of clear-cutting all of Rocky Mountain National Park every 4 months!

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S.O.S. (Save Our Shredders): the Junk Mail Deluge

Birgitte Rasine — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:12:11 +0000

Birgitte Rasine is the chief evolution officer of LUCITÀ, a firm believer in abolishing junk mail.

Help. My hands are sweaty, my heart’s racing, my vision’s blurred and I can’t breathe. I’ve been shredding since last Monday and my office is nearly filled to the ceiling with little multicolored bits of paper that resemble viruses magnified under a microscope. I feel myself sinking down through this swamp of cellulose dust, flailing about in vain to find a chair or cabinet to hang on to, grasping for one last breath of clean air… then darkness.

That’s my nightmarish vision of what it would feel like if I took all the direct mail that I ever received and shredded it all in one go. I’d probably pass out, either from exhaustion or breathing pulverized paper pulp.

Let me be blunt: I hate junk mail. Whoever invented it, I want to dunk them into an Olympic-size pool filled to the brim with mailers, postcards and superficially impersonal letters. I want to pour all the ink that’s ever been wasted into their bath tub and make them sit in it. I want them to lick every single postage stamp ever used for direct mail. I want them to look in the eyes of every one of their victims—once vibrant, dynamic people who are now spending their lives trying to organize, shred, get rid of junk mail they never asked for. Their names are sold without their knowledge, their identities traded like junk bonds in darkened, dusty corners of cyberspace. Do-not-call and do-not-mail lists are riddled with loopholes. Few of us have the time or the resources to mount legal campaigns to protect the rights that should naturally be ours to begin with. Do we need martial law to protect ourselves from the insistent march of these malicious mailers?

In real life, I’m somewhat more diplomatic. In principle, I get why direct mail exists. There are legitimate reasons used by legitimate organizations with legitimate desires to inform their audiences about the work they do, their products and services. The problem is, it’s purely financial. There’s not a single piece of direct mail that I have ever received that was sent for any other reason than acquiring donations, selling products or services, or other monetary gains.

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How To Make Junk Mail Go Away - Free

Paul Smith — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:39:26 +0000

Junk Mail. Two words, a lot of impact. 100 million trees worth annually in the US, along with the resources used to print them, plus the resulting additional emissions generated carrying them around to their final destination, your mailbox. What to do, aside from recycle?

The first option that may come to mind is the well advertised Green Dimes service. It does indeed seem to do a great job at reducing mailings, up to 90% in three months, and they plant 10 trees for you while they’re at it. I do have a qualm with tree planting however, as it’s recently been shown that this popular eco guilt reliever has also resulted in the displacement of people in places like Uganda that tree planting companies want to make use of for this now increasingly lucrative business. But I digress…

Green Dimes would seem a fine option, but for one thing - there’s a better one out there.

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Junk Mail Love - Part II

Juliet Ames — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:45:12 +0000

So, the kidlets are home from school today, bugging you for something to do, and you are hiding on the computer, catching up on blogs? Why not turn the computer off (after reading this, of course) and work on a junk mail craft together?

Paper bead making is a great craft for your little fashionista and is pretty simple to do. Using only junk mail, a toothpick and glue, this project is an easy way to get in a casual lesson on green living.

First, scour your junk mail pile and old magazines for colorful shiny paper to create your beads. The shiny varnished paper is pretty strong, brightly colored, and somewhat water proof. It is also more expensive to recycle, making it perfect for a project like this. Once your paper is selected, simply follow the following easy steps from HGTV:

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Junk Mail Love - Part I

Juliet Ames — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:34:31 +0000

The book “50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save The Earth” listed stopping unwanted junk mail as its #2 recommendation. Some interesting junk mail statistics from the book include: Each year, 100 million trees are used to produce junk mail; 250,000 homes could be heated with one day’s supply of junk mail; and Americans receive almost 4 million tons of junk mail every year. Yikes! And I thought these unwanted ads were just an annoyance! Luckily there are ways to stop junk mail, but you might want it to keep it coming when you see all you can do with it.

Paper artist Patricia Zapata of A Little Hut created these amazing works of art as a solution to her junk mail problem. The framed piece is made up of tiny strips of newsprint randomly glued to card-stock. It was then covered with an abstract floral card-stock frame. See a video podcast of her process on the Craftzine blog. Patricia’s adorable junk mail trees are simply made of junk mail and bristol paper. A detailed tutorial can be found on her blog. These simple processes can be translated into thousands of projects. Thanks Patricia, for sharing your junk mail love!

There are so many junk mail projects, I could not fit them all in one post. Share your project in a comment and you could be featured in a future post! Stay tuned for more!

[Images courtesy of A Little Hut.]

Daily Tip: Rid Yourself of Unwanted Catalogues with Catalog Choice

Jennifer Lance — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:40:46 +0000

We’ve covered the topic of junk mail before in our daily tips (see Tip o’ the Day: War on Junk Mail), but a new website is offering consumers an easy way to get rid of unwanted catalogues. With the holiday season approaching, my mailbox has become inundated with catalogues for every product under the sun. Previously, I have sent individual letters to each company, as well as signed up for services that were supposed to stop the catalogues from coming; however, the effects of all these efforts has worn off, and new ones are arriving daily. Now, Catalog Choice offers a convenient way to decline catalogues from your computer.

Catalog Choice is a free service sponsored by the Ecology Center. Their mission "is to reduce the number of repeat and unsolicited catalog mailings, and to promote the adoption of sustainable industry best practices." The site is simple to use. After creating an account, simply search for catalogue names, enter your customer identification number from the back of the catalogue (if available), then click decline. If the catalogue you wish to decline is not in the database, you can request Catalog Choice to add it, and they will notify you when it is available. I have already declined ten catalogues in a few days; however, it can take up to ten weeks before you stop receiving the declined catalogues. Catalog Choice also offers a "My Choices" page, which allows you to change your mind and start receiving the catalogues again, as well as follow up on catalogues that you are still receiving despite your requests.

Here are some staggering environmental facts from Catalog Choice:

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

Nearly half of the planet’s original forest cover is gone today. Forests have effectively disappeared in 25 countries, and another 29 have lost more than 90% of their forest cover.

Deforestation contributes between 20% and 25% of all carbon pollution, causing global climate change.

More than one billion people living in extreme poverty around the world depend on forests for their livelihoods.

There are other significant environmental impacts from the catalog cycle. The production and disposal of direct mail alone consumes more energy than three million cars.

The manufacturing, distribution, collection and disposal of catalogs generates global warming gases as well as air and water pollution. Reducing the number of unwanted catalogs that are mailed will help the environment.

Catalog Choice is simple to use, and the impact is far-reaching. I would much rather not receive so many catalogues, then haul them to the recycling center each week. Visit Catalog Choice today, and see how easy it is to make a small change to help the environment.

Daily Tip: Go Paperless

Amy Stodghill — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:00:08 +0000

Okay, so you probably won’t be 100% paper-free just yet, but there are several things you can do to eliminate a lot of uncessary paper in your life. It is as easy as making a few phone calls and moving online.

Pay bills online. Credit card companies and utility providers encourage their customers to manage their accounts and pay bills online. Sure this makes it easier for them - less postage, and overhead costs - but you’ll also benefit and shred a lot less paper.

Read newspapers and magazines online. Many publications have their print edition available online for subscribers. Same info, less paper.

Stop junk mail. To make credit card offers, catalogs, direct mailings and all the rest of that junk disappear follow Rebecca’s Daily Tip on how to do this.

At work, utilize e-mail.

Circulate memos and other interoffice communications via e-mail.
Send and receive faxes electronically.
Create electronic versions for major documents such as annual reports.
Don’t print unless you have to.

Amy says: The hardest thing for me on this list is stopping junk mail. I’ve done all the things you’re supposed to do to prevent it, but it just keeps coming and coming. It seems like a never ending battle, but I’m going to fight until the bitter end.

Here are more Daily Tips from GO on going paperless:
Daily Tip: Click This, Tax Man!
Daily Tip: Electronic Faxes Save the Day
Daily Tip: Don’t Press That Button!
Daily Tip: Your Bills Will (Virtually) Disappear
Daily Tip: Find Zen. Live Sans Flyers
Daily Tip: War on Junk Mail
Daily Tip: Please Mister Postman, No More Junk Mail!
Daily Tip: Freedom From Catalogs
Daily Tip: Get yer Programs!
Daily Tip: Save a Tree, Read it Online

Junk Mail Killers Green Dimes raises $20.5M in funding

Noelle dEstries — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:08:12 +0000

Congrats to the good folks over at Green Dimes for raising a big ol’ round of funding. There’s nothing like an eight figure investment to kick your company to the next level.

Most people hate junk mail — how many are willing to pay to stop it? Palo Alto-based startup GreenDimes is betting a lot will, and according to PEHub has raised a whopping $20.5 million in a first round of funding, led by Tudor Investment Corporation.

GreenDime’s site says it has “tens of thousands of members” and the annual fee is $36 per year (a dime a day). For that price the company says it will reduce your junk mail by a 75% to 90% and plant one tree a month. GreenDimes was founded by entrepreneur Pankaj Shah, who also founded 4INFO and MetroFi.

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