Some of us love the barrage of holiday catalogs that start arriving in October and have become a veritable fortress of paper by the end of December. But some people really hate getting catalogs. A website called Catalog Choice, funded by environmental groups, offers an opt-out service where consumers can opt out of specific catalogs. So far 300,000 people have signed up and retailers are starting to get freaked out.
The environmentalists are putting retailers on the spot at a delicate time. In the last year, "Do Not Mail" initiatives have been proposed in 15 states. Similar to the federal "Do Not Call" legislation, which bans telemarketers from calling phone numbers on a special opt-out list, the bills have made little progress so far. But the movement appears to be picking up, and bad press from a group like Catalog Choice could tip consumer sentiment.
So on Dec. 17, the DMA held a "catalog summit" at its New York offices to discuss how to fight back. "Activist groups are out there collecting names for petitions and beating the drum," DMA President John A. Greco Jr. told attendees. "We would advise you not to encourage them in any way."
At the meeting, Greco introduced an upgrade to the DMA's own opt-out service, which he recommended his members use exclusively. Like Catalog Choice, the DMA's Mail Preference Service will now let consumers pick which catalogs they do not want to receive by title. But it will require users to submit a credit-card number to verify their identity, and it will cost $1 (the DMA says it will soon remove the fee). It also will have an "opt-in" for consumers to add their names to catalogs' house lists. The hope, says Greco, is to show that direct marketers can regulate themselves.
So far, most retailers either refuse to take the names off their lists or just give a "no comment" when asked about their policies. It's true that excess catalogs take a toll on the environment. If we took all the Pottery Barn catalogs we receive in a year (unasked for) it would stretch three times around the globe. Ok, it's not quite that many, but it sure feels that way. But we love our Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Williams-Sonoma catalogs. You can pry those from our cold, dead hands. Oh, and if you think postage is expensive now, wait until catalogs and mailers are outlawed. Those ad mailing keep the postal system alive; without them it will cost $5 to mail a letter.
