How to Cancel Catalogues

Everyday Americans receive unwanted catalogs in their mailbox. Trees are cut down to make these catalogs, energy is used to manufacture, print and mail them, and our landfills are glutted with this waste. According to the Environmental Defense, every year approximately 19.5 billion catalogues are sent out by the industry, resulting in at least 71 pieces of mail for every person in the United States. The majority of this mail is unnecessary and unwanted. There are ways to discontinue or cut down on the number of catalogs you receive each year.

Sign up on the Catalog Choice website. This is a free service where the retailers commit to respecting the wishes of consumers who sign up. They agree to discontinue duplicate mailings, send out only occasional catalogs, or stop them entirely. You can control which companies you wish to receive catalogs from and when. It may take up to 10 weeks for the catalogs to stop, but if they continue after that, you can register an infraction with Catalog Choice and they will take care of the matter.

Look on the back of the catalogs you receive. There should be a toll-free number listed that you can call to ask the company to stop sending you mailings. If you do not wish to stop them entirely you can designate how many are sent to you. This is also a good time to ask them not to share your home address with other marketers; this will cut down on mailings that are unsolicited.

Pay one dollar to the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service. This will discontinue unwanted mailings for five years after you register with them. Keep in mind that as soon as you order from a company or request a catalog, the mailings will begin again. Thus, whenever you place an order for something, make it clear you do not want mailings.