Junk Mail, Spam and other Nuisances that Hurt the Environment and Waste Our Time
Every day for my adult life, I have looked forward to going to the mailbox. I don’t know why. Maybe because I am an optimist. Or, maybe I am so delusional to actually think somebody is going to send me some random money. Either way, going to the mailbox has always been a small opportunity for wonderment. Of course, every time I go to the mailbox, I am disappointed because I find one of two things. Bills and junk mail. Instead of unexpected and random money or a wonderful letter from an old friend, I get two things I can’t stand. One of them I can’t help, and the other, I learned I can.
Let’s face it, you can’t do anything about bills, unless you have everything paid on-line automatically (or, of course, if you’re one of the rare aliens that have no bills).
But, the junk mail. I despise it. I squeeze it in my hand vigorously as I pull it from the mailbox. I’ve never understood this enormous, unsolicited waste. I didn’t ask for it. I don’t want it and don’t see how it generates anything good.
Well, according to the Directing Marketing Association (who, to their credit are taking green initiatives), “in 2007, advertising mail contributed more than $686 billion in increased sales to the US economy and played a critical role in the success of our country’s businesses and nonprofit organizations.”
$686 billion? That’s a lot of money. I don’t know about you, but I have never made a single purchase from an unsolicited advertisement sent to me in the mail. Somebody out there obviously does.
Since I’ve moved to West Hollywood, California (one of the more environmentally conscience states I’ve lived in), I have received more mailers, coupons, catalogues, offers and other paper nonsense than ever before. Given the economic downturn we are in and the nation-wide awareness of “being green”, I finally had to do something about it.
Just like there is “Do Not Call” (Uhttps://www.donotcall.gov/U - a service that puts your phone numbers on telemarketer’s “do not call” list), there is the snail mail equivalent - Uwww.donotmail.orgU. You go on the site, sign up, put your name and address in and it generates about 15-20 letters for you to print and mail to companies that sell and distribute your name and address to direct mailing organizations and advertisers. The letters ask for you to be removed from their mailing lists. Look, I am not interested in hurting the sales of small businesses and non-profit organizations across our country – they are the lifeblood of our economy. But, there has to be a better way to market that doesn’t clutter our physical and electronic mailboxes while, at the same time, waste valuable resources.
Does anybody have any suggestions? Please write in!
It’s a new year. Let’s de-clutter, de-spam and de-junk our mailboxes. If you like all the junk mail, more power to you. Give me your address and I’ll send you mine. But, if you’re like me… I wish your next trip to the mail box provides something unexpectedly positive.
Michael Albanese is a playwright, screenwriter and part-time jack-of-all-trades. A recent transplant to Los Angeles from New York, he loves, in no particular order, all things Italian, art, films, music, theatre, food, wine, etc. He drinks a lot of coffee and knows just enough about sports to get by. He has vast experience in the hospitality and service industries and at one point in life, wanted to be a dentist. He lives with his best friend, who happens to be his wife, and has a stuffed dog because he won't commit to getting a real one. So far, he hasn’t received anything remarkable in the mail, but his mailbox is, in fact, less cluttered, which is intangibly remarkable.