It is no wonder most of my clients experience paper overwhelm. With no action required on our part, we are barraged by our mailbox every day. Through rain or snow or sleet or hail, papers and magazines arrive without any assistance or invitation. As the holidays approach, junk mail accelerates into our life and this is the perfect time to begin to stop the flow.

This is the perfect time to opt out of mailing lists and now there is an easy way to take control and make change to reduce the paper that comes into your home. Check out this new service:

Catalog Choice Launches New Service to

Combat Increasing USPS Junk Mail

BERKELEY, CALIF. (November 8, 2011)—As the U.S. Postal Service aggressively seeks to increase direct advertising mailings, Catalog Choice—the leader in mail efficiency—is working to help consumers combat the impending tidal wave of junk mail. The Berkeley-based non-profit today launched MailStop™ Envelopes—the first in a line of premium services set to roll out this fall.

Users can purchase MailStop™ Envelopes for $6.75 each, fill them with up to 15 mailing labels from unwanted mail and send the envelopes back to Catalog Choice. Their staff will then scan the labels, fulfill the opt-out requests and record the transaction in customers’ secure accounts. Companies have 90 days to honor requests before formal complaints are filed and then submitted to the FTC. Customers can use the envelopes to opt-out of any unwanted mail including catalogs, donation requests, circulars and coupon mailers, as well as phone books. The envelopes are available for purchase at www.catalogchoice.org and can also be gifted to friends and family.

Catalog Choice has been testing the MailStop™ Envelopes with customers for the past several months. Brad Barrish, one such customer, said, “Catalog Choice is a no-brainer for anyone who is tired of receiving so many catalogs in their mailbox and just doesn’t have the time to write letters and follow up with the companies sending them. At $6.75 an envelope, it’s hard to find an excuse not to participate. Thanks so much for such a compelling and easy way for people to opt out of junk mail.”

“MailStop™ Envelopes enable individuals to stop unwanted mail seconds after they pull it out of the mailbox,” said Chuck Teller, Executive Director, Catalog Choice.  “Since the beginning, Catalog Choice has empowered people to take control of their mailboxes. MailStop™ Envelopes offers another way to improve the relevance of mail for consumers, reduce mailing costs for businesses and garbage disposal costs for cities and counties. It’s a win for everyone involved.”

MailStop™ Envelopes is the offline version of Catalog Choice’s online service, which allows consumers to control who can send them unsolicited mail. In recent months, Catalog Choice has also partnered with communities across the country includingChicago, Ill.; Seattle, Wash; San Jose, Calif. and Kansas City, Mo.-Kan to provide localized mail preference programs for their residents.

About Catalog Choice
Founded in 2007 to provide consumers greater control over the marketing materials that enter their mailboxes, Catalog Choice is the world’s largest preference and privacy portal with more than 1.4 million consumer members and 4,100 direct marketing companies.  By reducing unnecessary mail and phone books, Catalog Choice’s free and low-cost services reduce deforestation, greenhouse gases, solid waste and water consumption. Catalog Choice, a non-profit organization based in Berkeley, Calif., is supported by grants from the Overbrook Foundation, Kendeda Fund, Merck Family Fund and Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, as well as donations from members.