ONE MILLION PEOPLE AND INDUSTRY AGREE: CONSUMERS DESERVE A CHOICE
NATION’S LEADING MERCHANTS JOIN LARGEST INDEPENDENT CATALOG PREFERENCE SERVICE

San Francisco, CA —Catalog Choice (www.CatalogChoice.org), the nation’s largest independent catalog preference service that has just registered its one millionth member in less than a year of operation, is now partnering with leading merchants Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn brands, West Elm, Crate & Barrel, CB2, L.L. Bean, Orchard Brands, as well as the American Catalog Mailers Association, to provide consumers with even greater customer service and choice. The agreement, fueled by growing industry attention to more targeted, more efficient marketing, will provide even more consumers with a convenient, trusted and free way to reduce the amount of unsolicited catalogs they receive while still getting the catalogs they love.

“Speaking on behalf of the entire group, Catalog Choice helps us further our goal of giving consumers a convenient, trusted and free way to express their mailing choices,” says Pat Connolly, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Williams-Sonoma, Inc. “Catalog Choice’s user friendly service and commitment to consumer privacy make them an ideal partner for our industry.” The merchants in the partnership are taking leadership for the industry by embracing and encouraging further adoption of Catalog Choice as a solution for those who would prefer not to receive specific unsolicited mail. Through the partnership, the merchants agree to honor catalog preference requests made through Catalog Choice in a secure and timely manner.

“The one million Catalog Choice members will be very pleased with this partnership,” said Chuck Teller, Executive Director of Catalog Choice. “Our members recognize the importance of merchant participation in making Catalog Choice an even stronger service for simplifying their lives. We’re pleased to work with these major brands as they take a leading role in their industry and join the 250 visionary merchants who have been honoring customer preferences through their established accounts on our site. This move will enhance the loyalty of their customers.”

Catalog Choice, a not-for-profit service, was created in October 2007 to provide consumers with a free, easy-to-use means of reducing the number of unwanted catalogs they receive and to communicate their catalog preferences. The site also provides direct links to merchants, as well as electronic versions of many catalogs, to enable consumers to shop online with merchants who provide superior customer service and share their environmental ethics.

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Catalog Choice is supported with funding from The Overbrook Foundation, the Kendeda Fund, the Merck Family Fund, the Weeden Foundation, and Mead Foundation. To see how the service works, visit www.CatalogChoice.org.  Catalog Choice is sponsored by the Ecology Center in Berkeley, California and is endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council.