More than 19 billion catalogues are shipped yearly, the bulk during the holiday shopping season, and retailers such as Victoria’s Secret and Williams-Sonoma are adopting eco-friendly alternatives for their mass-mailing businesses.
After two years of lobbying from environmentalist group ForestEthics, Victoria’s Secret, which launched its Pink line over a year ago, has agreed to use more recycled paper, reduce direct mail and conduct more efficient target mailings of other materials sent to customers, said Anthony Hebron, vice president of external communications at parent Limited Brands.
ForestEthics began its campaign to transform the catalogue industry in 2004, setting its sights on Victoria’s Secret, which, on average, mails 395 million catalogues a year. “The impact is huge,” said Dan Howells, paper campaign director at ForestEthics.
For complete coverage see tomorrow’s issue of WWD.