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’ve ever wondered just what kind of carbon footprint you’re putting down as you go about your everyday business, here’s a free gadget that can help you figure it out. ECOBOT is a tiny Adobe Air application that installs on your computer (Windows, Mac, and Linux), and analyzes the amount of power, fuel, and paper – yes, paper – you use daily. Once you’re in the know, you’ll be able to figure out where you need to cut back.

This tiny app can’t be beat when it comes to tracking fuel consumption. If you install it on a laptop and input information on the various wireless networks you use regularly (home, work, coffee shop), ECOBOT will automatically calculate the distance when you switch from one network to another. The app prompts you to enter the method of travel and adds that distance to your trip history so it can report back on how much fuel you’re using. Suddenly, that weekly drive across town to that little bistro with WiFi might not look so appealing. If you don’t have a laptop, you can still enter your car travel data manually.

ECOBOT also automatically figures out how much power your computer is using, and spits out data whenever you need it. If you provide additional information about other power sources you use regularly like video games systems, TVs, fans, and vacuum cleaners, you’ll get an even more accurate picture of your power consumption.

Even though we’re trending toward a paperless society, we still use a lot of the paper in our daily lives. ECOBOT automatically keeps an eye on how much your printing from your computer, and tracks other paper products if you like. Just log in all the newspapers, magazines and other paper-based products you buy for a clearer picture of just how much of the stuff you’re using.

ECOBOT won’t make suggestions on where or how to cut back on fuel, power, or paper consumption, but it does go a long way toward helping you gauge what effect your attempts to keep their usage under control are having. Sometimes “going green” feels like a moving target – it’s hard to monitor the effects of small changes. ECOBOT is a neat way to see how our choices make a difference.

The post Decrease Your Carbon Footprint with the ECOBOT App appeared first on EcoSalon.

Finland’s new mail program hopes to cut costs and decrease pollution.

According to the Telegraph, a new system launched in Finland may have snail mail sliding even further from our fingertips. On April 12, Itella, which runs the country’s postal system, will begin a pilot program in which mail is scanned, digitized, and then emailed to recipients. Once in action, it is anticipated that this plan will reduce carbon emissions, paper waste and cut costs by limiting the number of mail carriers on the road.

So far, 126 households and 20 businesses have volunteered to take part in the project. Once mail is scanned, participants receive a text message or email that their mail is ready to view. Some skeptics are worried about privacy issues and have likened this new mail system to tactics used by the KGB. But advocates of the program insist that mail is not read nor is it kept once it has been copied. When it comes to security, Itella’s director, Tommy Tikka, compares the approach not to e-mail but to web banking, insisting the program is safe and secure.

But what about things that can’t be scanned? Replacement credit cards, the feel of embossed fonts, the smell of perfume-scented love letters? For this trial, hard copies of scanned mail (including any additional non-scannable pieces) will still be delivered twice weekly to homes and offices. It’s unclear as to whether this will continue on a regular basis after the trial period has concluded. The trial will run through the end of the year, and if the feedback is positive, the result will be a more widespread program.

With America appearing to move towards cutting Saturday mail deliveries, will this new mail system be next for us, too? Here’s hoping!

But, in the meantime, if you want to eliminate your junk mail right now, check out Tonic’s own Precycle!

Editor’s note: Article by Sophie Rosenblum. Originally published by our friends at Tonic.com. Tonic is a digital media company and news source dedicated to promoting the good that happens each day around the world. Tonic tells the stories of people and organizations who are working to make a difference, by inspiring good in themselves and others. Be sure to visit them and say hi, and follow Tonic on Twitter, too!

Image: uzvards

The post Want to Save the Planet? Have Your (Snail) Mail Scanned appeared first on EcoSalon.