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?
