Letters

Seeing red over green groups

A growing number of direct marketers have taken notice of the DMA's 2007 “Resolution Asserting Environment Leadership” and other efforts to raise public awareness about stewardship of our planet's finite and renewable resources. But some environmental groups — particularly those that love to criticize direct mail — are among the greatest offenders when it comes to “walking the green walk.”

For example, one of our nation's leading environmental groups led the charge last year against direct marketers, decrying our industry's “antienvironmental” practices. This same group sacrifices innumerable trees annually and spends beaucoup bucks on large-scale mailings to its members and prospective donors.

To add insult to injury, this group even has the audacity to criticize data sharing when its donor list has been on the market for years. The organization purportedly shares its names with commercial mailers, which is akin to breaking bread with the enemy. So, is it okay for it to kill trees and monetize its donor information?

Encouraging mailers to rely more on recycled paper and less on old-growth forests is a good thing for marketers and the environment. Commentators have noted that consumers will pay a premium for goods that are manufactured from recycled products, and will favor visionary companies that embrace environmental stewardship.

Direct marketing helps to reduce greenhouse gases because folks who respond to mail are not getting into their cars to shop. Paper is a renewable and recyclable resource.

Public policy should foster direct marketing rather that de-legitimize our activities. According to the DMA, direct marketers facilitate billions of dollars in commerce annually and create thousands of jobs.

At this juncture, the DMA should lobby Congress and our state legislatures for tax incentives and postal discounts so that more direct marketers will be compelled to “go green.”
David Kanter
president/CEO, AccuList

Insert complaint here

Regarding “And now for something different” in the March issue, I find it difficult to believe that you would print an article on insert media and call it alternative media.

The insert media industry, at great pains and effort, extricated itself from the terminology “alternative media” five-plus years ago. To celebrate our coming of age, a number of individuals, brokers, managers, mailers and suppliers inaugurated the first Insert Media Day. Subsequently, with the assistance of the DMA, there have been four more.

In addition, all major broker/managers and most trade publications and industry sources changed the terminology to insert media to reflect the component parts, including package and catalog inserts, statement inserts, ride-alongs and related forms of distribution

There is a large market of “alternative media,” of which insert media most certainly is one of the more prominent channels. An article to this effect would be most welcome to your readers and would be an industry service.
Leon Henry
CEO, Leon Henry Inc.