Stop Unwanted Catalogs FREE Service
77HUB: CatalogChoice.org Update 01/20/08
Just a note to let everyone know that CatalogChoice.org is working so well that in just a few months it has over 400,000 members who have opted out of over 5,000,000 unwanted catalogs!! I organized a neighborhood effort and we opted out of 135 catalogs in less than an hour!! PLUS, CatalogChoice.org has streamlined its Opt-Out features so that it takes less than 10 seconds to remove the Catalog permanently!! (It also has a feature that allows you to change your mind at any time downstream!!) It's a good thing to do in the New Year!! Blessings, Earth Angel!!
CatalogChoice.org
Three years ago I ordered some fluffy slippers from a reputable mail order catalog for my ailing aunt. It is the first and only time I have ordered from a catalog. She loved those soft pink slippers. She lived in them. She died in those slippers. My aunt and the slippers are long gone but the catalogs I receive have multiplied like rabbits in spring!
We can put our phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. We can turn our SPAM filters on HIGH to eliminate most Internet Spam. Until last month, there was no efficient way to stop unwanted, mostly unsolicited mail order catalogs from filling our mailboxes.
Bill Moyers Journal (as seen on PBS last night) highlighted a new non-profit organization that gives us our own power to decline specific catalogs we no longer wish to receive in the mail. In the first month at CatalogChoice.org over 120,000 people used this free and simple service to UNSUBSCRIBE to their unwanted catalogs.
8 Million Tons of Trees Destroyed Each Year for Junk Mail
The impact on the environment is serious. It can easily be eliminated or at least lessened substantially.
It takes cutting down over 8 million tons of trees in just the U.S. to produce the mail order catalogs we refer to as "junk mail." The production, delivery and recycling of catalogs alone consumes more energy than three million cars. And the profit to the company sending catalogs is quite small, only 1.2 to 1.5 percent at best.
By reducing the number of unwanted catalogs produced each year we can radically help save the environment.
Bill Moyers Journal
No RSS URL was specified.How To Get It Done Right the First Time
Gather all your unwanted catalogs.
Go to CatalogChoice.org and sign up for the free service. (CC promises privacy and to only use contact information for the purpose of "opting-out" of catalogs.)
Enter the account number (printed on the front of the catalog) at Catalog Choice.
Catalog Choice then contacts the catalog providers on your behalf requesting that your name be removed from their mailing lists.
No more unwanted catalogs!
"It can take up to ten weeks to process your request, after which time you should no longer receive your declined catalogs," says the Catalog Choice Web Site, "if you do continue to receive them, you can return to to CatalogChoice.org to report the infraction, and they will follow up with the offending merchant."
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You are so welcome!! As far as I know, this is the only service of its' kind!! It has been such a success in just a month in the U.S. I am sure it will be expanding to the UK soon!! Thank you for your comments!! Blessings on your day, Earth Angel!!
Earth Angel!
As the state of our environment is one of my most important concerns I applaud this "mail-box antispam" I need to find out if it's available in Canada or if it's in the organising stages yet...I'm a firm believer that one step at a time will undo all the mess we've created in the past...
Thanks for sharing this great news...
regards Zsuzsy
Thanks for the support and the comments Zsuzsy Bee!!
I agree!! If each of us does what we can to help the environment, and encourages friends and family to do the same, we can have an impact at a grass roots level!! I am appauled at the U.S. and the level of waste we each produce: an estimated 4.5 pounds per person per day!! And yet our government continues to waste uncontrollably while pressuring other countries around the world to clean up their acts!!
Catalog Choice is a non-profit located in the U.S.!! I am hoping it will expand to other countries quickly!! I imagine some of the U.S. catalogs are mailed around the world and I assume since they are generated in the U.S. that CC will take them off the list!!
Thanks again for the comments!! Keep up the GREAT work!! Blessings on you day!! Earth Angel!!
There is a company called Green Dimes - http://www.greendimes.com/ - that helps people reduce the amount of junk mail they receive.
Thanks for sharing MGWhite!! The link you listed doesn't seem to be working very well!! I did find www.greendimes.com, however!! Looks good, although they do charge an annual fee of $15.00 whereas www.CatalogChoice.org is FREE!! Also, one of the reasons Catalog Choice was founded is because so many of the "Get Rid of Junk Mail" companies actually DO SELL your personal information to OTHER mail order lists!!?? Thanks again for the GREAT comments!! Blessings, Earth Angel!!
The environment is a concern of mine as well. But I've always been concerned that these "Do Not Call" lists, or "Unsubscribe" services, actually help those questionable businesses to make their mailing lists more profitable -- and thus keep them in business when they should be going bankrupt! Also, I can't help feeling sorry for those who remain on the list. They must become prime targets for the junk mail companies. There should be a better way to solve this problem, but I don't know how you get by the free-speech aspect of these mailings.
Great idea for a Hub. We have used the service to cancel a bunch of catalogs. Too early to tell whether it works.
We've received almost no phone solicitations from businesses since signing onto the don't call list. However, we're still flooded with calls for political and charitable donations.
Hi Ralph!! Thanks for the comments!! Catalog Choice says it may take up to 10 weeks for the catalogs to stop but we've experienced a noticeable difference in just a week!! We wanted to get on the list right away to try and stop/curb the insane number of catalogs that start the Holiday Season!! Thanks again for your comments!! Blessings, Earth Angel!!
Hi William!! Yes, I too was suspicious of the previous services that offered to take my name off catalog lists, for an annual fee and all my contact information!! And, as it turns out, there were lots of profitable scams running under this scenario!! Catalog Choice is the first FREE, non-profit, run by environmentalists company of its kind!! Plus, this could really be a win-win for the catalog companies as well as they only have to send to those people who really want their mailers and probably buy on a regular basis!! I LOVE my Victoria Secret catalogs but opted out of Shovels Direct!! Thanks again for your comments!! Blessings, Earth Angel!!
whenever one does order....just request from that company that they NOT rent/sell your info out to others AND for that co. not to put you on their mail list; if that's what you prefer.
on a more somber note, when there is a death there is no automatic removal of the deceased from mail lists in the US. but it can be done!! takes lots of patience but the reward is worth it. start w/ Mail Preference in NY city is my tip.
Wonderful Hub, I have subscribed to this service, hopefully they will eliminate the catalogs I am receiving. I also registered for Donotcall list free service, it works great avoided so many intrusive calls. It is easy to do service here. http://cgullworld.blogspot.com/2007/09/how-to-regi
I tried to do the same for credit card application letters, initially it stopped, but then it has restarted again, they send me one mail application a day. It is absurd they will send so many junk.
Thanks cgull9m for the nice compliments!! I am on the DoNotCall Lists as well!! BUT, the week immediately prior to Thanksgiving I was getting 20 calls per DAY offering me new credit cards!!?? After Thanksgiving I have not received a one!! I have put myself and all my friends (who requested) on the Catalog Choice site!! Even though CC said it would take about 10-12 weeks, many have stopped in just 2 weeks!! Thanks again for checking in!! Blessings, Earth Angel!!
Thats great, the donotcall list was a lifesaver. Initially they said we had to renew every five years, now they have made it permananent, which is good. I also use Grandcentral.com. You can check the blog here http://cgullworld.blogspot.com/2007/07/googles-gra
I forward all my phone numbers to that one, if I see a spam, I block them. Instead of giving our personal number, I use this intermediary number. Very helpful.
Wonderful informantion cgull8m!! I am writing a Hub right now and will add it!! Thank you so much for the new information!! You are a jewel!! Blessings on your day!! Earth Angel!!
g8t info
Thank you Mallu for your comment!! I hope it serves you well!! To date, we have cancelled 40+ unwanted catalogs!! Blessings, Earth Angel!!
Your ideas are, by all means, superb. You are doing a great job - give others ideas = wealth. Well, let it be known that you gave ME great ideas.
Thank you again!
Thanks JerseyGirl!! I so appreciate your thoughtful comments!! Creative thoughts beget more creative thoughts!! You go girl!! Blessings, Earth Angel!!
i want to stop the catalogs mailed to me
Awesome lens thanks for the great info. you can get more free info on this and other things go to http://yourguideto.info
Nice, thanks for the info. I hate these things. I bought something from ONE catalog over a year ago, now I get about 10-15 different catalogs every month!
I was unaware of this service. I'll have to give it a try because there are some companies generating a lot of paper being delivered to our house to be recycled.
Support Catalog Choice.org
Catalog Choice is a sponsored project of the Ecology Center. It is endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and funded by the Overbrook Foundation, the Merck Family Fund, and the Kendeda Fund.
working
compu-smart says:
6 months ago
I get catalogs all the time, in my name and previous tenants, and I never knew these services existed.. I tried to sign up but it's only a US. service and now im aware of the environment issues I will find have to find a service here in the UK.
Thanks for sharing:)