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Shame on You, DWR (What is Green?)

Apr 16, 2008
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I received a catalog in the mail today from Design Within Reach (DWR). Have I ever purchased anything from DWR? No. Did I ask for this catalog? No. The title of the catalog is "What is Green?" and it's 160 pages. That's right, this company promoting "sustainable, eco-friendly, cradle-to-cradle, recycled, recyclable, small footprint, low-VOC, Greenguard, LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] and FSC-certified [Forest Stewardship Council]" and being "encouraged by the increasing number of smart solutions to improve the planet" has sent me a 1/4" thick, 8.5x11" catalog that weighs 15 ounces. The inside of the catalog goes on to say "we know that not all items fit into every category of ecological perfection," and I'd have to say the DWR catalog itself is one of those items. Do they realize the hypocrisy of their catalog? They close by saying "We're all doing our part, and we welcome your response when we ask, 'What is green?'"

Dear Ray Brunner, CEO (rbrunner@dwr.com) and Kimberly Oliver, PR Manager (koliver@dwr.com):

Are you doing your part?

Green is not sending an unsolicited 160 page catalog to (how many?) people. How much paper did you just waste? How much energy was used producing and distributing them?

Green would be sending us a postcard letting us know that your new product line was available and that in lieu of further environmental impact, we should go to your website to see what you have to offer. That would have been eco-friendly with a small footprint.

Green is understanding that words like "green" and "ecological responsibility" are more than just the latest marketing buzzwords. If you really mean it, then practice it at every level of the organization.

I do not know how my name got on your mailing list, but one of my personal approaches to "What is green" is to try and limit the amount of junk mail I receive by requesting I not get put on mailing lists when I place orders and by removing myself from those lists when I do get unsolicited mail. After I call your customer service department to do that, you can be sure I'll be recycling the catalog, unread and uninterested in shopping at DWR.

[Press release announcing "What is Green?"]