Getting Beyond the Bed Bath And Beyond Coupon

[Marlene Z]

Taken from www.ConsumerChange.com Blog

Last week I wrote about the importance of advocacy, so I feel a little ashamed today to write about where, so far, my advocacy has failed.

I have been trying to get Bed Bath and Beyond to change their coupon mailing policy. Their postcard coupons are 5.5” by 11” – about six times bigger than typical coupons in a newspaper or magazine. They do not state the amount of post consumer recycled content or whether the ink used is environmentally friendly. Bed Bath and Beyond do not have an online environmental policy statement although this year they faced a shareholder resolution to file a sustainability report.

Bed, Bath and Beyond responded to initial reviews stating it would pass on the comments to its marketing department. Nothing seemed to happen. Then earlier this year I noticed that coupons now had a note saying we could opt out of future mailings through the Bed, Bath and Beyond website. Happily I obliged. Imagine how furious I was when I continued getting the coupons that were now addressed to “Our Neighbor” instead of my name. In addition to the reviews on Consumer Change, I wrote directly to Bed Bath and Beyond and was told in early October that I would be taken off future mailings. Since then I have continued to receive mailings, I have even received emails telling me that my coupon was in the mail – what was the point of that? Surely just emailing the coupon would have been easier, cheaper and more environmentally friendly?

In 2009 alone, Bed Bath and Beyond have sent to me,
• At least 6 postcard coupons (5.5” x 11”), the earlier ones are a bit larger
• At least 3 brochures that measure 11” x 11”
• At least 3 mini catalogs of about 12 letter sized sheets of glossy paper each

I state “At least’ because I am not sure that I kept all of them.

Not all paper is equal but for the sake of simplicity, let’s assume it is. The total sheets of paper Bed Bath and Beyond have sent to me this year is 45 sheets of paper.

Conservatree.org estimates that on average one tree makes 8,333 sheets of paper. So this year alone I have been sent about 0.54% of a tree from Bed Bath and Beyond. According to their investor relations website, Bed Bath and Beyond has over 1,000 stores. If each store had a mailing list of 10,000 individuals – a very low estimate in my opinion – that would equal 54,000 trees.

Bed Bath and Beyond are known to take expired coupons and they occasionally publish coupons online – both of these actions support a strategy for less mailings saving trees, transportation and the environment.

What you can do:
• Unsubscribe to Bed Bath and Beyond mailings through bedbathandbeyond.com/unsubscribe.asp, unsubscribe using both your name and ‘Our Neighbor’.
• Tell Bed Bath and Beyond that they need to change their marketing policy to be more environmentally friendly.