How many catalogs do you receive a week? I would guess that I get about 4 or 5. That's 4 or 5 more than I would like to! This past week, the catalogs I received were between 31 and 146 pages--the three I'm looking at right now totaled 275 glossy pages that normally would end up being flipped through while watching a sitcom with no intention of buying anything and then be tossed in the recycling bin. No more!
Today I took action. I called all three catalog companies--waiting on hold for one for 20 min. (Luckily, my phone could be put on speaker, allowing me to hang dry my clothes outside while listening to muzak. ) I told each company I no longer wanted to receive their catalog (or emails) and asked to be taken off their mailing list. J Crew still kept my account open, but removed me from their catalog list. I think that means I still can get discounts or free online shipping around the holidays.
I was curious how much paper comes from one tree. Browsing the Internet, it sounds like it takes around .6 of a tree for 10 reams of paper--that would mean one tree gives us around 8,300 sheets of paper. But think of how many people receive catalogs in the mail. I'm sure a good percentage of those catalogs aren't even read and are tossed right in the recycling bin, or (gasp) the garbage can.
I am happy to report that some catalogs, such as the above mentioned J Crew, are printed on 10% post-consumer recycled paper. That's definitely a step up, but not good enough for me. I will continue my quest at reducing the amount of catalogs I receive. As of today, I have taken care of three. Who else is willing to become an unsubscriber?
2 comments:
Hi Natalie! Have you thought of using Catalog Choice? (Google it and it comes up.) I used it this spring and have seen a MARKED decrease in catalogs. I get 65 different catalogs (could not believe it was that many.)
Hope the writing is going well!
Hi Natalie!
I'm one of the authors with you in the Blooming Tree Press anthology, THE GIRLS, coming out this month. It's very nice to meet you, and it's so great to see all your blogs on going green.
I have an article on my website about green schools (http://www.cynthiareeg.com/teachers/green.html)
and am adding more green info for parents and teachers this month.
I enjoyed exploring your website as well. It was fun to see we also share an interest in bugs. On my website, I have an article for kids about spiders: http://www.cynthiareeg.com/writings/spiders.html
It looks like you've written some great nonfiction books. They're on my "must read" list now. And I can't wait to read your story in "The Girls."
Best wishes,
Cynthia Reeg
www.cynthiareeg.com
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