| The catalog industry is under assault on several fronts: |
 1. | Increased privacy concerns |
| 2. | Increased environmental concerns |
| 3. | Rising costs for both supplies and transportation |
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| As responsible corporate citizens as well as business people, it is incumbent upon us to take a firm stand supporting consumer choice and concerns, and operate our businesses according to best practices. |
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| As they say, the best defense is a good offense. And there are very specific actions that we in the industry can take that will help to mitigate consumer activism. |
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| 1. | We can support the DMA's Commitment to Consumer Choice. With an increase in proposed legislation to introduce Do Not Mail registries, it is incumbent upon us to make sure we honor "do not mail" requests and that we answer customer questions about the source of names honestly. The safest way to ensure "do not mail" requests are followed is to use the Mailing Preference Service from the DMA. Make sure that privacy policies are easily accessible; detail all options the company makes available to consumers to protect their privacy and preferences. |
| 2. | We each need to determine an environmentally friendly policy which can be easily articulated and communicated. We can expect customers will become increasingly concerned about the amount of paper stock in their mailboxes even when they are interested to receive catalogs. |
| 3. | Explore cost saving options which at the same time as lowering expenses may be environmentally friendly (e.g. smaller books, co-mailing). |
| 4. | Create a list of Frequently Asked Questions which explain your policies and practices on privacy and environmental responsibility. Then post the FAQ's on your website and train all customer service reps to be able to understand and provide the answers to customers/prospects. |
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| By accepting responsibility for our actions before legislation prohibits us from doing so, we can promote both the health and good will of our industry. |
