Direct Mail: A Killer of the Environment?

Some people think that because direct mail is made out of paper and paper comes from trees that it is automatically adversely effecting the environment and should be stopped. Before you go cutting off your direct mail consider these facts published by The Direct Marketing Association, on its DMAchoice website, about direct mail being the “green” way to shop:  If you are not familiar with DMAchoice, it is a website developed by the Direct Marketing Association to help you manage your mail. This site is part of a larger program designed to respond to consumers’ concerns over the amount of mail they receive.

Facts about Direct Mail:

• Direct mail is a green way to shop. If Americans replaced two trips to the mall each year with shopping by catalog, we’d reduce our number of miles driven by 3.3 billion, a 3 billion-lb. reduction in carbon dioxide and a savings of $650 million on gas alone.
• Mail represents only 2.4 percent of America’s municipal waste stream.
• The production of household advertising mail consumes only 0.19 percent of the energy used in the U.S.
• Mail is made from a renewable resource. The vast majority of paper produced in America today comes from trees grown for that specific purpose. The forest industry ensures that the number of trees each year is increasing, so trees are not a depleting resource. In fact, forest land in the United States has increased by 5.3 million acres in the past three decades.
• Direct mail is critical to the economic well being of communities, businesses and charities throughout the U.S. Last year it represented more than $686 billion in sales, supporting jobs at more than 300,000 small businesses across the country.

Direct mail is not the enemy; it is a cost effective, efficient, green way to get your message to your customers.  The goal of all direct mail is to be as relevant as possible so that your message is not wasted on someone who has no interest or need for your product.  Instead of stopping your direct mail to save the environment, target your list and message to ensure that you are marketing to qualified leads.  After all every catalog or direct mail piece that makes its way into the garbage without being read is a waste of money and lowers response rates.

The Ins and Outs of Recycled Paper

Environmental awareness is growing and as consumers are making greener choices, they are demanding environmentally and ethically sound partners for the products they require.  The responsibility thus falls on the businesses to demonstrate just how green they are through their corporate policies and marketing communications. 

One of those communications is direct mail.  Direct mail can be seen as being unfriendly to the environment.  However the truth is direct mail only accounts for 2.3 percent of landfill waste.  Plus, it remains as one of the most effective response-driven media channels available to marketers.  The targeting capabilities, measurability, and creative possibilities are difficult to match.  Thus, lessening your impact on the environment while still benefiting from the power of mail should be a high priority.

An effective yet surprisingly easy solution to helping your company become more eco-friendly is switching to recycled paper.  “For every 20 cases of recycled paper substituted for non-recycled paper, you can save 17 trees, 390 gallons of oil, 7000 gallons of water, and 4100 kWh of energy.  Plus you eliminate 60 pounds of air-polluting emissions and save 8 cubic feet of landfill space” (Kramer). 

That is a HUGE benefit for changing to a product that is as good as the product you use now.

 Buying Recycled Paper

In the 1980’s, recycled paper lacked in quality, sometimes appearing tan, gray, or spotted. But today recycled paper is available in all colors, including the brightest whites, and meets the highest technical standards, sometimes even exceeding comparable virgin papers (non-recycled paper).  The lack of quality is just one of the many myths about recycled paper. Below are a few of the other common myths.

 

Myth #1: All paper is recycled now, there is no need to ask for it.

Fact: Unfortunately the truth is that at the height of its success recycled paper made up only about 10% of the printing and writing paper market. Now printing mills and paper distributors are reporting that that 10% is dropping because buyers assume they no longer have to ask for recycled.

 

Myth #2: It is better to burn paper for energy then to recycle it.

Fact: The fibers in fine paper can be recycled up to a dozen times before becoming to short for papermaking.  Each one of those times saves water and energy, and reduces pollution.  The minimal amount of energy produced when paper is burned can not compare to the value and impact of the repeat savings that recycled paper provides.

 

Myth #3: Making recycled paper is environmentally damaging.

Fact: Recycled paper production saves trees, energy and water, besides producing less pollution and requiring less bleaching than virgin papers.  Plus it solves a community disposal problem.  The greater amount of sludge produced from recycled paper production is the only area in which recycled paper creates more disposable material than virgin paper.  But this problem material would have otherwise been scattered throughout landfills or concentrated in incinerator emissions or ash. Recycling mill sludge can be disposed of using an environmentally controlled method. 

 

Myth #4: Recycled paper cost more.

Fact: Many grades such as text and cover (often used for letterhead, brochures and publications) and some coated papers are cost-competitive with virgin papers and may even cost less.  Plus buying in larger quantities and planning ahead further reduces or eliminates price premiums on recycled paper.

 

Myth #5: Selection of paper stock is limited

Fact:  You now can get just about every kind of paper with recycled content.  Virtually every grade of paper is available.

 

 

•        Letterhead, stationery and envelopes

•        Business cards

•        Brochure papers

•        High quality copy paper

•        Offset

•        Text and cover

•        Book printing papers

•        Opaque

•        All grades of coated papers

•        Bristol, index, translucent, tag and board, and drawing paper

·         Specialty papers

 

 

Making the switch

 

Making the switch to recycled paper is easy and DataMart Direct can help!  Here are some suggestions:

 

1. Buy the highest post-consumer content you can, balanced against your budget and functional needs. 
2. Be sure to choose the right paper for your job- DataMart Direct will be happy to assist you.
3. Allow enough lead-time for better pricing and selection.
4. Use recycled paper for both public uses such as direct mail, stationary and brochures, as well as for less visible uses such as copy paper.
5. Don’t forget to show them how green you are! Label your printed material with sayings such as, “Printed on Recycled Paper” to publicize the importance your company puts on environmental responsibility.

 

DataMart Direct can guide you through making the switch to recycled paper.  Give us a call today at 630-307-7100.

Become an Environmailist. (2008, July/August). MailPro, 2(4), p.4. Retrieved October 6^th, 2008, from  http://www.usps.com/mailpro/2008/julyaug/julyaug.pdf

Kinsella, Susan for the Recycled Paper Coalition, published by the Buy Recycled Business Alliance of the National Recycling Coalition. (2000). Fact Sheet: Buy Recycled Paper! Conserve a Tree website. Retrieved October 6^th, 2008, from http://www.conservatree.com/paper/PaperTypes/RecyBrochure.shtml

Kramer, Debby. (2003). Why Should you Buy Recycled Paper? Recycle Works website. Retrieved October 6^th, 2008, from  http://www.recycleworks.org/pdf/whybuySBWMAjb.pdf .

Show Them how Green You Are. (2008, July/August). MailPro, 2(4), p.4-5. Retrieved October 6^th, 2008, from  http://www.usps.com/mailpro/2008/julyaug/julyaug.pdf