Today is an important day for consumer choice. October marks the beginning of the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) enforcement of a new labeling provision. This guideline states that a DMA marketer must provide existing and prospective customers and donors with notice of how to eliminate or modify direct mail solicitations from their organization. That means that catalogs, credit card offers, and nonprofit fund raising appeals all need to state how you as the consumer can opt-out or reduce frequency of the mailing. The notice needs to appear in every marketing offer and it must be “easy to read, find, understand, and act upon.” This provision is part of DMA’s Commitment to Consumer Choice (CCC) that was announced two years ago, about the same time that Catalog Choice appeared on the scene. The CCC program and notice policy apply to DMA members, but all mailers are encouraged to comply.
We all know how convenient and effective labeling rules can be. Whether it’s a printed warning on a cigarette packet about smoking’s health hazards, the listing of trans fat on a food label, or a recycling logo on packaging, labels inform our choices and empower our actions. We are hoping that you’ll see more Catalog Choice logos printed on catalogs and that marketers will make mail preference choices more visible and convenient on their websites.
And here’s where you can help. Look at the catalogs you receive this month and through the holidays. Can you easily find the notice for how to modify or eliminate the mailing? Is it easy to read and understand? Let us know which companies are doing a good job and which ones need improvement. We’ll pass on the results of your findings to mailers and the DMA. Thanks for your help!
Metrostyle is definitely not the case of easy unsubscribing.
I was not able to find such information in catalog.
However there are fine print about sharing mailing information with other companies by default. And you should write mail (in Internet age!) to opt-out of such practices.
Unsubscribe link on Metrostyle’s website is buried in “request catalog” section. And unsubscribe requests looks just ignored. I never received confirmation of unsubscribing by e-mail after several request for unsubscribing.
Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn Teen do not follow your guidelines. I have requested several times to stop receiving their catalogues, and each time, after a period of not receiving, they start back up. I have called, I have re-entered the information on your website, and nothing changes. I’m to the point where I will no longer shop there because it’s so irritating. Thanks for trying–but they are not listening.
All what I wrote about Metrostyle is same for Chadwicks (same parent company).
Caldwater Creek catalog and website doesn’t provide any tips to unsubscribe. In catalog they suggest to eliminate duplicate catalog mailings by sending labels using regular mail. All that definitely contradicts they own claims on http://www.coldwatercreek.com/SocResp/ProtectResources.aspx.
Eugene and Louise, we appreciate your feedback. Our team will contact these companies on your behalf and let you know their responses. Thanks for using Catalog Choice.
I’m having a frustrating time with The Orvis Company. Last spring, after checking that they had honored my original opt-out request through Catalog Choice, I placed an order. No way was given to indicate that I did not want to receive catalogs, but I figured since they had my opt-out, they’d continue to honor it. Unfortunately, despite my repeatedly reporting the receipt of the catalogs, they’ve continued to send me one every couple of weeks since I placed the order. Nothing on the catalog suggests a way to stop the mailings; nothing on the website does (although I believe it should be unnecessary for me to go through any other method, as they are at least nominally CC members, and have my opt-out.) I even emailed the person listed on their website as in charge of public relations, without response. Too bad–they have some nice things on their website I’d order, but I’ll look elsewhere, until they honor their agreement, and until they convince me they’ll continue to honor it.
And no, in light of this failure, I’m not impressed by their “2020 vision for sustainability”.
Vitacost.com claims in both catalog and web-site how great they are in paper recycling, however they somehow completely forgot to provide easy and obvious ways to stop mailing in both places.