Stop Unwanted Mail to Your Company Too! Mar 11th, 2010

Many great solutions  start by addressing a household problem (Quicken) and then expand to help your company (Quickbooks).  Catalog Choice is following the same path.  Today we are pleased to announce that we have added Company Name to the address profile for our Member accounts.  At the same time, we have added Company Name to the secure data file that we transfer to the mailer.

If you are a small business owner, you can add your office address to your existing Catalog Choice account.  To do this, go to your profile and add a new address.  Set the ‘nickname’ for this address to your company name and make sure you add your company name to the address profile.

Catalog Choice - Control the catalogs you receive in the mail

If you work at a larger company and want to stop the flow of unwanted advertising mail at your office, create a new account dedicated to your office location.  You can add names of long lost employees that continue to get mail to your account.  We have kept the sign up form simply so Company Name does not appear on the sign up form.  After signing up, go to your profile, scroll down to the Address area and edit the address so you can add the Company Name.

We know that the companies that send catalogs and advertising mail to your office are different than those that mail to your home.   As a result, we are working on a new system that will streamline the process of suggesting and adding new mailers to our service.  In the meantime, use our Suggest a Catalog page to let us know of mailers that you want us to add to our system.

Our New Member Blog Feb 5th, 2010

We have just launched a new Member Blog powered by Posterous (http://members.catalogchoice.org).  Check out the new blog here.

This blog is designed for our Members to share stories about their efforts to reduce unwanted mail and go paperless.

You can share a story on the Member Blog by emailing the story to:

post@catalogchoice.posterous.com

The subject line of your email will be the title of the blog post.

Any photos you include in the email will be included in the blog post.

Help Spread the Word Offline Feb 4th, 2010

When you are a small scrappy company like Catalog Choice, you need to come up with creative ways to spread the word about your service.  My teenage daughter encouraged me to go offline with information about Catalog Choice.  We’ve designed the poster, below, that you can easily print and hang up anywhere.

Print copies of our poster and “post” them at work, school, gym, community center, or wherever you think others will see it.  Thanks!
Click here to download the poster
catalog_choice_poster.pdf (1 page)

More Titles Participate in Catalog Choice Feb 2nd, 2010

We’d like to welcome new catalog companies & titles to our service!  From art supplies to great food to all things Western, here are more terrific brands that have recently joined Catalog Choice to honor your mail preferences.  Show your support by shopping with these brands online!

Art Supply Warehouse Express

CWI Medical

Famous Smoke Shop

Fort Western

Impromptu Gourmet

Jerry’s Artarama

Paper Wishes by Hot Off the Press

If your company uses direct mail, you should be honoring consumer choices at Catalog Choice. Learn more about our free merchant account program here.

Green Irene will help you make green product choices Jan 28th, 2010

You want to “green” your home, but like many tasks in our lives this one is complicated.  Where do you start?  What are the best products to use?  These are a just a few of the questions that you are probably asking as you embark on greening your home.  If you don’t want to make a hobby out of going green, there is help near by.

The company Green Irene, founded by the husband and wife team of PJ Stafford and Rosamaria Caballero, has assembled a team of 500 certified Eco-consultants located in almost every State in the Union.  Whether you are looking to green your home or office, you can have a Green Irene eco-consultant conduct an on-site visit and develop a step by step green makeover designed specifically for you.  You can get started by locating a local Eco-Consultant by using the Green Irene directory.

For more information on becoming a recognized green expert in your community, visit their Eco-Consultant website at  http://www.BeAGreenIrene.com.

Looking for green products that Green Irene likes?  Browse their eCatalog or shop their green product store.

City of Seattle Passes Do Not Mail Resolution Jan 25th, 2010

Today the City of Seattle passed a non-binding resolution asking the State of Washington to set up a do not mail registry and directing the Seattle Public Utilities agency to evaluate the existing mail preference services as an option to provide an effective service to Seattle residents.  This second part of the resolution is in direct response to feedback from the industry.  As the largest independent voluntary mail preference solution, we welcome the opportunity to inform the City about what it takes to run an effective voluntary service.

You can view the Council’s discussion on the topic by viewing this video of the City Council meeting.  Click Resolution 31169 from the right hand side index or fast forward to 46:50 of the video.

Phone book debate Jan 18th, 2010

Should the delivery of phone books to your home or business be managed through an opt-in or opt-out process?  That is the core of the debate that is brewing across the country right now. The opt-in program means that you have to ask for the phone book – that is the basis of the Colorado bill that was introduced last week.  The Denver Daily reports on the issue.

Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, introduced a bill last week that would prohibit a basic telephone service provider from delivering a white page directory or other paper document in excess of one pound unless the customer requests the delivery. A telephone service provider in violation of the proposed law would have to pay a $50 fine per delivery for the first 100 recipients and $1,000 per recipient for subsequent deliveries. Fines would be capped at $100,000 per year.  Read the whole article here.

The Industry trade association, Yellow Pages Association and phone book publishers like Dex, Super Media and Yellow Book want the process to be opt-out.  That is, you are going to get the phone book unless you opt-out.  Quest Communications points to the Dex Select program that let’s you choose how many of the various Dex phone books they will deliver to your home as an example of self regulation.

For their part, Peter Larmey of Dex, the publishing company for Qwest Communications, said he thinks that most customers and lawmakers will not think a bill like Ferrandino’s is necessary because of the phone company’s new Select Your Dex program that was recently unveiled in Colorado. The program was one of the first by phone book providers to allow people to choose how many and what kind of phone book they want.

I decided to take a look at what it takes to stop the phone books to my test address in Boulder, Co.

Here are the results.  First I had to figure out that Dexknows.com is the publisher for my local phone book.  Once I found their site, I had to find the opt-out form. At first glance, I could not find it.  To find the form, you have to know that you should click Select Your Dex from the footer on the dexknows.com website.

Local Business Listings, Maps, Directions, Phone Numbers | DexKnows.com
From the footer link, I get a page that describes the Dex phone books then I click again to a page where I need to enter my zip code and then I get the following form to set my phone book order. That is four clicks to get me to the form.
Dex - Select Your Dex - Order Form
Now I get to fill out the order form.  Don’t forget to change the quantity to 0 if you want to opt-out.   I filled out the form and gave them my email address since it is a required field.  I was not sure why I was giving them my email address, so I created a special one for Dex using the handy Gmail suffix technique.  A couple minutes later, you get a confirmation email with your order.  You will need to keep the confirmation email just in case the phone books show up.  That is one publisher down.
There is also a note that tells me that I need to go to another opt-out site if I want to stop all the phone books.  That site is Yellowpagesoptout.org, which is run by the Yellow Pages Association.  At the Association’s site, I entered my zip code and learned that there are two more publishers that I need to contact.
Yellow Pages Association | Environmental
The first one on the list, Idearc, which recently changed their name to Super Media, has a convenient opt-out form.  The other, Yellowpages, has an opt-out form, but they decided to not list the website in the Association’s directory.  They would prefer to have you call.
So, there you have it.  Opt-in to the phone book or follow the opt-out path above.   As usual, Catalog Choice will not wait for legislation.  We will provide a way for you to easily navigate the opt-out maze and stop a phone book if you want.  If opt-in laws materialize, then we’ll let you make that choice easily too.
What do you think?  Which way should it be – opt-in or opt-out?

Seattle Contemplating DNM Resolution Jan 17th, 2010

Like San Francisco, the City of Seattle will be voting on a resolution that requests the State to establish a Do Not Mail registry.  The concepts is being openly discussed at this West Seattle Blog and was reported by the local news in this piece.

What do you think?  We will follow the vote and let you know the outcome.  To learn more you can find the draft resolution here and all sorts of articles on the topic here.

New Year’s Resolution: Get Organized Jan 10th, 2010

If your New Year’s resolution involves getting and staying more organized, you might need some spiffy new bins and baskets. Crate & Barrel, a participating merchant, offers many options including these eco-friendly totes. Knowing that your baskets are made from non-toxic & renewable materials makes filling them with your stuff even better.

Brampton Low Open Totes

$6.95 – $12.95

reg. $9.95 – $18.95

Crate and Barrel - Brampton Low Open Totes shopping in Crate and Barrel Baskets

Eco-friendly totes in a sweater weave of twisted natural water hyacinth with a touch of rattan and a warm light brown lacquer finish. Handcrafted with sturdy metal frames, cutout handles and rounded corners. Two sizes nest when not in use.

Want to make a list of Crate & Barrel products and keep it on your desktop or personal homepage? The Crate & Barrel iCatalog holds their full product line in a compact, portable widget that lets you search for products, build lists and share your discoveries with friends.

Note: a portion of any purchase made through the iCatalog or the link in this blog post goes to support Catalog Choice.

Recycling Now Law for San Diego Jan 5th, 2010

For the New Year, San Diego is resolving to dramatically increase the amount of waste residents recycle, including advertising mail. An ordinance went into effect on January 1st and applies to virtually everyone and everything in the City. The law requires recycling of plastic, glass, paper, newspaper, metal containers and cardboard at private residences, commercial buildings, and at special events requiring a City permit. Those who ignore warnings can face fines of up to a thousand dollars. City officials hope that a recycling mandate will stretch the time San Diego can use the Miramar landfill, which is nearing capacity and slated for closure around 2017. To make recycling easy, some apartment complexes are conveniently locating recycling bins for residents, including placement next to mail boxes.

At the Colima Linda apartment complex, which got started on the program a couple of months ago, as much as 50 percent of its trash has been diverted to recycling; A good start, but not yet on target if the City is to meet and exceed its diversion goals. Currently, the State of California requires local governments to reduce waste disposed in landfills by 50 percent.  In 2008, the City of San Diego achieved 64 percent diversion. City officials are striving to exceed that rate every year. This goal seems doable since about two-thirds of waste headed to the local landfill is recyclable. Go San Diego!

Better yet?  Stop the waste at the source and take actions like reducing unwanted mail through Catalog Choice! We’ll soon announce our expanded service addressing other forms of advertising mail to help you and your towns and cities meet waste reduction goals.