ForestEthics released its third annual Catalog Environmental Scorecard (PDF). Catalogs from Timberland and Bloomingdale's topped the rankings for phasing out their catalogs entirely. Crate & Barrel also received a high ranking for unveiling a new policy committing the company to stay out of endangered forests.
However, financial companies such as Capitol One, Chase Bank, Citi and American Express were at the bottom of the ranking for cluttering mailboxes with credit card offers or junk mail.
The score card evaluated 21 companies according to four criteria: whether or not endangered forests are cut to produce the company’s catalogs; whether the company uses Forest Stewardship Council certified paper; the amount of post-consumer recycled content in the company’s direct mailings; and the company’s efforts to reduce overall paper consumption. Here's a look at last year's report card.
Earlier this year, the environmental group released a report on office supply industry's green grades. Daniel Hall of ForestEthics said, “While no office supply company is perfect, Staples and FedEx Kinko’s are making real progress and lead the sector overall.”
