Your Junk Mail Is Going Green

OK, not really, but according to the New York Times, a group of direct-marketing companies, along with some of their clients, have banded together to develop 'best practices' that might make their direct mailings a little greener. Called the Green marketing Coalition, the group have actually been around since 2007 and includes business heavyweights like Microsoft and Washington Mutual. The coalition's site, along with their green marketing guidelines, can be found here. Unfortunately, a quick glance at those guidelines revealed little more than simplistic advice on recycling and improving efficiency. Time will tell if this will become a serious environmental effort or just another greenwashing stunt.

Meanwhile, the United States Postal Service is also attempting to green up direct mail practices. They have been encouraging direct marketers to participate in their green initiatives by sending out 'green kits' as part of a promotion. Each kit contains an 'en-vi-ron-mail-ist' organic t-shirt and a handbook on how to create greener direct mail campaigns. The green direct mail initiative is part of their continuing efforts to adopt environmentally-friendly business practices, which includes supplying eco-friendly shipping boxes and stamps printed with soy-based inks. The USPS green site can be found here.