Poring over a glossy catalog while relaxing in the tub is luxurious, but all those mailers contribute to a glut of decomposing paper in landfills and deforestation for the sake of advertising the newest line of summer sundresses. Let’s make a pact to lessen or eliminate the amount of store catalogs we get in the mail, shall we? Catalog Choice is a free, easy-to-use website that will help get us started on the right foot.

Catalog Choice has over 1,700 companies in its database, all willing to stop sending you catalogs just for the asking. Just pop over to the site and enter the name of a retail company. If it’s listed in the database, you’ll get the company’s customer service phone number, links to its website and privacy policy, and an option to opt out of receiving future catalogs. For many companies it’s an all or nothing deal, but others will keep you on a seasonal or occasional “mail to” list if you like.

If you’re like me, it’s hard to give up the catalog habit cold turkey – everything just looks so slick and pretty! Fortunately, Catalog Choice has your back. In an agreement with many big retailers, you can flip through a digital copy of catalogs from Crate & Barrel, National Geographic Gift Store, and more, right online. Registered users can even bookmark catalogs for return visits, make wish lists, and share links right from the site.

So, let’s get ready to cut back on the dead tree versions of our favorite catalogs and free our mailboxes from being stuffed to the brim. Go!

Image: Vee Dub

The post Kiss Your Heap of Unwanted Catalogs Goodbye appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re sending correspondence through the mail these days, why not design your own stamps to promote your green message?

Many sites, including Zazzle.com, allow you to either select from their designs or customize your own using photos or images downloaded from your computer.

If you decide to make stamps for a special occasion, remember to weigh whatever you’ll be mailing before you order so you can specify the correct postage amount. If you aren’t going the route of Evites or other email invitations, using stamps that say something special, and green, is a great option.

Here are ten designs I found at Zazzle with cool green themes:

1. Six Reasons to Plant a Tree

2. Fair Trade Only

3. Got Bamboo?

4. Dreaming of a Green Christmas

5. Hang Dry

6. Love Your Mother

7. Love it or Leave It

8. Kiss Me

9. Like No Tomorrow

10. Burn Fat Not Oil

Images: Zassle.com

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The U.S. Postal Service has long been an advocate of environmentally friendly practices. Through the years, they have increased their recycling efforts to a point where they are now recycling more than 1 million tons of paper, plastic and other materials a year.

But realizing that there is always more that can be done, the U.S. Postal Service has been developing more ways to improve it”Ëœs green services.

For example, it has worked hard to obtain Cradle to Cradle┞¢ certification in regards it’s Priority Mail and Express Mail division. As a result, it now offers”¦

• Priority Mail and Express Mail boxes and envelopes which are 100 percent recyclable and free of charge.
• Postage paid Click-N-Stick labels that can be printed from your home or office computer and then affixed to your package.
• U.S. postage stamps that are made with soy-based inks and containing biodegradable and non-toxic adhesives which can be purchased online or over the phone, thus saving a trip to the P.O.

The USPS is also making it easier for Post Box customers to recycle their mail with the Post Office Box Lobby Recycling program. Secure recycling bins are strategically positioned in Post Office lobbies around the country with the aim of encouraging customers to open, sort, and recycle un-needed mail before they leave the Post Office lobby.

That’s just to tip of the iceberg. To find out more about the USPS green initiatives and practices, head over to their website and have a look around. You might be surpised at how green the USPS really is. Who knew?

Image: uzvards

The post Post It Green appeared first on EcoSalon.