Direct Mail & the Environment
I initially built my career on direct mail. So I definitely have an affinity for direct mail and I've always seen the benefits even as my own career quickly transitioned mostly to Internet marketing.
As the US Postal Service suffers from an old business model, the debate intensify's over direct mail and its future here in the US. And while once can certainly argue that there may always be a need to target folks at-home with a good mailer, it's hard to debate the effects of mailers on the environment.
More than 100 billion pieces of direct mail are delivered each year in the United States – an average of 848 pieces per household. The production, distribution and disposal creates 51 million metric tons of greenhouse gases – equal to the emissions of almost 10 million cars and more than the combined emissions of seven U.S. states. Climate change or no, that’s a lot of pollution.
Perhaps, as mailers, we should be more conscious of the fact that nearly 99% of our mailers end up in the garbage - which adds significantly to the waste detailed above. While 1% theoretically works, we need to challenge ourselves to perhaps mail in much smaller quantities in order to strive for 3 and 4% response rates or higher.
In an ideal world, there's be no waste and no negative affects on the economy from our direct mail efforts. This is obviously not possible, but if everyone does a bit more to lessen the load on the environment thru direct mail, then the word "junk" would not be associated with direct mail.
Back
As the US Postal Service suffers from an old business model, the debate intensify's over direct mail and its future here in the US. And while once can certainly argue that there may always be a need to target folks at-home with a good mailer, it's hard to debate the effects of mailers on the environment.
More than 100 billion pieces of direct mail are delivered each year in the United States – an average of 848 pieces per household. The production, distribution and disposal creates 51 million metric tons of greenhouse gases – equal to the emissions of almost 10 million cars and more than the combined emissions of seven U.S. states. Climate change or no, that’s a lot of pollution.
Perhaps, as mailers, we should be more conscious of the fact that nearly 99% of our mailers end up in the garbage - which adds significantly to the waste detailed above. While 1% theoretically works, we need to challenge ourselves to perhaps mail in much smaller quantities in order to strive for 3 and 4% response rates or higher.
In an ideal world, there's be no waste and no negative affects on the economy from our direct mail efforts. This is obviously not possible, but if everyone does a bit more to lessen the load on the environment thru direct mail, then the word "junk" would not be associated with direct mail.
Back