Ideapad

[updated Dec. 13]

I have been inundated with catalogs this holiday season. Big, tree-killing, mailbox-cluttering, useless, unwanted catalogs, from companies I haven't heard of selling products that are useless to me.

Something happened with my good name this year, either via my change of address card at the post office when I moved in April, or from agreeing to a few too many things as a consumer marketer at Clarins. The privacy-oriented environmentalist in me hates this. So I am diligently using Catalog Choice to opt out of these wasteful things.

Every one of these catalogs opted me into their lists without asking my permission. I figure turnabout is fair play. Below are the companies who harm the environment and invade my privacy in the hopes that I'll blow a few bucks on their products. I refuse to patronize them and urge you to do the same.

Update, Feb. 11, 2008: I keep receiving catalogs and I keep opting out of them on catalogchoice.org. So far only one unsubscribe has gone through; I will monitor them in the coming weeks to see if they do any better. The list below has been updated.

The offenders (those with an asterisk are companies who have my name from legitimate means, but from whom I never requested a catalog; those with two asterisks sent catalogs in 2008):

Back to Basics Toys
Brookstone (2X) *
Charles Keath **
Campmor (2X **) *
Coldwater Creek
Expressions **
Frontgate **
Grandinroad (2X **)
The Great Courses **
Harry & David *
Herrington (2X **)
HP * **
Lord & Taylor
Mohonk Mountain House * **
One Step Ahead **
Potpourri
Sensational Beginnings (2X)
Signals
Smith & Hawken
Smith+Noble
Victoria's Secret *
Victorian Trading Co.
Wireless

I will continue to update this list through Christmas 2007. I hope it doesn't get too long.