Comments j2callie has made

  • There's a certain gleeful satisfaction (so there! take that! see how you like it!) in "making them pay for to get their junk back" but that sounds like a very efficient system of labels. I'd use that for the ones who are being recalcitrant though, since I try to restrain myself from adding to the paper load on the system --- one of the reasons to cut back on junk mail, in addition to saving trees, is to lessen the poundage that has to be transported.

    On the other hand, I seem to remember hearing that the Post Office is losing money except for what they earn on those Current Resident mailings.  Any business that we want to keep we will have to support --- how many regular US Mail letters have any of us written lately??


    Here's another opt-out registry. It seems to me that fewer of the "pre-approved" credit card offers are being sent out, which is good because they are a MAJOR way that ID theft can happen. And I don't think this opt--out will work for solicitations for you to apply. It's worth signing up however.

    Unsolicited Mail, Telemarketing and Email: Where to Go to “Just ...

    Apr 24, 2009 ... The credit bureaus offer a toll-free number that enables you to “opt-out” of having pre-approved credit offers sent to you for five years. ...
    www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt063.shtm

    IF you're going to be moving, one tip that worked really well for me was to NOT give a forwarding address to the Post Office. Those new addresses are available for others to use for their own ends, including even more "junk" mail welcoming you to your new home.

    You then take it upon yourself to notify all your correspondents and businesses. Tedious and perhaps too much so, but I was getting a LOT of catalogs. And I'm sure you've noticed that once you order from one mail order catalog you start getting others --- some companies make more money from selling their customer list than from selling products. 

    If you go that route, it does help to know the new residents of your ex-abode and/or the postmistress (thank you, Lark) in case someone you overlooked sends you something important. You can leave your new address/phone number (and maybe a bottle of wine or case of fresh fruit) with them,

    When/if you ever again order something, or join something, you need to remind yourself to tell them at that time you don't want any mailings. 

    And mucho thanks for the phone book info, Alan. Do we need a citizen protest letter campaign to Eddie Bauer??

    On 365 days of junk mail posted 4 months ago 11 Responses

  • Positivity

    There are two organizations I can recommend that address exactly that problem of depressing gloom and doom. One is Center for a New American Dream, with positive actions and encouraging statistics on what can be accomplished if everyone actually makes those small individual changes.


    Our message isn't about deprivation. It's about getting more of what really matters -- more time, more nature, more fairness, and more fun.

    They have several campaigns for "conscious consumerism", realizing it's not possible to stop consuming but showing the effect of those collective changes.

    Pertinent to your post is their campaign for Responsible Purchasing and they even have a new 9-min video to watch online. Perhaps you can make the introduction to your purchasing department armed with this background -- or even maybe you can show it to them!


    RPN's Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) video is now available for download or viewing online.  This nine minute video explores the emerging realm of EPP, an innovative, market-based strategy that is saving money, protecting human health, creating jobs and reducing adverse environmental impacts.  Because every purchase matters, using EPP enables you to direct your purchasing power toward products that are better for the planet and for the people who live on it--while at the same time cutting costs.

    With highlights from the early EPP pioneers--Santa Monica, California, King County, Washington, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the State of Minnesota--this video demonstrates why EPP is on the rise, how every community can benefit from EPP, and where you can begin.

    The other organization is Yes! Magazine, published by the Positive Futures Network.


    The work of the Positive Futures Network is to give visibility and momentum to these signs of an emerging society in which life, not money, is what counts; in which everyone matters; and in which vibrant, inclusive communities offer prosperity, security, and meaningful ways of life.

    YES!
    We are best known for YES! magazine. Our quarterly magazine invites readers to be part of a global community of change makers.

    Each issue focuses on a theme, showing the possibilities and practical steps that can lead us all to a more positive future.

    Besides the quarterly print issue, they have email newsletters for general readership (including one in Spanish), and also make a concerted effort toward education -- not only offering an email newsletter with lesson suggestions, but also several curricula AND a year's free subscription to the print magazine.

    Anyone could benefit from the organized education information - since we are all "teachers", if only by example.On Umbra on staying positive posted 1 year, 9 months ago 10 Responses