Say no to junk mail
Sustainable living › Step up your green game › Say no to junk mail
Not only can junk mail fill your mailbox and add to your household's clutter, it wastes our planet's resources. Take a few minutes to follow these simple steps to enjoy months – if not years – of freedom from junk mail.
Step 1: Get off of the lists
Call, write or send e-mail to businesses and organizations that provide the “key” to removing your name from – and keeping it off – many mailing lists. Many companies that send unwanted mail are members of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). Your request to the DMA will keep you off member lists for five years. To make a request online, complete the form on DMA website...Visit the DMA Choice website
To make a request by mail (include $1 check or money order, not cash), send a letter to this address requesting that your name be placed on the suppression file:
Mail Preference Service
Attn: Dept 27478505
Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512
Some, but not all, direct marketing businesses are members of this organization, so it might be more effective to contact some businesses directly. There’s no harm in “doubling up.” These companies sell mailing lists or send direct mail:
- Equifax Direct Marketing Solutions
Consumer Response Center
26955 Northwestern Hwy., suite 200
South Field, MI 48034-8455
800-873-7655 - InfoUSA / Donnelley Marketing
Database Operations
1020 E. First Street
Papillion, NE 68046
888-633-4402 - Experian Consumer Services
List Maintenance
901 W. Bond
Lincoln, NE 68521
800-407-1088 - Valassis Direct Mail, Inc.
Director of List Maintenance
Consumer Assistance
PO Box 249
Windsor, CT 06095 - Abacus (to reduce unwanted catalogs)
P.O. Box 1478
Broomfield, CO 80038
800-518-4453 - Acxiom (call to request an opt-out form)
877-774-2094
or fill out the online opt-out form - Cox Target Media
(Val Pak coupons)
fill out the online opt-out form
After you contact these companies, be patient; some mailing labels are prepared months in advance, and some companies manage several lists, so it can take three to six months to see results. You may need to repeat this process in five years or sooner if you notice you are receiving increasing amounts of junk mail.
Step 2: Call the credit bureaus
Stop unwanted credit card offers by calling the credit bureaus. To opt out of Trans Union, Equifax and Experian lists, call 888-567-8688 or visit https://www.optoutprescreen.com/. Contact them every two years.
Step 3: reduce unwanted catalogs
To eliminate unwanted catalogs, use Catalog Choice to get off unwanted catalog mailing lists. You can also call the customer service number on unwanted catalogs and ask to have your name removed from their mailing list.
Step 4: Contact businesses directly
Ask the following businesses not rent, sell or exchange your name and address:
- your bank, credit union and mortgage company
- magazines to which you subscribe
- mail-order companies with which you have done business
- all organizations to which you belong
- nonprofit groups or other organizations to which you have made donations
- any other business that regularly sends you a bill; just about anyone who sends you a bill can sell your name
Step 5: Stop junk mail before it starts
Use these tips to keep future junk mail from coming.
- If you move, don’t fill out a Post Office change of address form – directly contact everyone yourself. Otherwise, junk mail can follow you to your new address.
- List your telephone number in your local directory without an address or get an unlisted number.
- Don’t send in product registration cards.
- Don’t use stores’ “buyer’s club” card when making purchases.
- Avoid participating in sweepstakes or contests unless you are given the opportunity to “opt out” of any mailing lists that are created. Look for disclosure notices in the sweepstakes and contest literature.
- When unwanted mail comes with a postage paid envelope, use it to return the mailing label along with a written request to remove your name from the organization’s mailing list.
- When contacting a company that is already sending you unwanted mail, be sure to use the exact name and address that is on the label you receive. You’ll improve your chances of getting your name removed when the information is an exact match.