Direct mail is considered by consumers to be the most trustworthy of all marketing channels. It is extremely important to create copy, calls to action and offers with honesty. This is not the time for a bait and switch or a poorly worded offer that is interpreted wrong. Direct mail is about respect. Respecting the recipient’s intelligence, as well as their time is very important. That is why we strive to help client’s create targeted offers consumers want to receive. I like the quote by James E. Faust “Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living and truth loving.” Can your customers count on you to help them create direct mail pieces that are honest?

In 2025, the number of department stores that have left New York City far outnumber those that remain. There are millions of New Yorkers who probably don’t even remember Gimbels, Ohrbach’s, Abraham & Straus, B. Altman, Bonwit Teller, Wanamaker or Japanese retailer Takashimaya – an incomplete list of the long-departed. Many do recall when Lord & Taylor, Barneys and Henri Bendel closed, less than a decade ago. That makes the presence of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman all the more precious, and the entrance of Nordstrom and Printemps a sign of hope for the segment. But with Fifth Avenue losing much of its cachet and department store merchants losing much of their influence, this retail model has become a challenge even for these survivors.

The new research, which was carried out by environmental experts WSP, and commissioned by Marketreach, has produced a full carbon Life Cycle Assessment of mail. This is the first time Marketreach has looked in-depth at every element, from forest source to end-of-life, via the processing, design, production and delivery stages. It has found that, by taking every opportunity to regenerate, reinvent, reduce, reuse and recycle, mail can contribute to a circular economy, and be part of an effective marketing mix. *New industry-first study by WSP and Marketreach assesses full carbon lifecycle of mail and its contribution to a circular economy *Interactive online tool from Marketreach empowers commercial mail users to determine the carbon impact of different formats across the supply chain *Bold and disruptive creative campaign, including direct mail and out-of-home (OOH) launches today and throughout the planning and delivery teams have been considerate of the environment.