Lands' End Cuts Down on Paper

Here in the green offices of the Green Blog, we have been exploring what larger retailers are doing to turn their stores green. Watching the big guys is a smart way for smaller retailers to get ideas for their own green initiatives. Today, we look at Lands' End, which is reducing paper consumption by sending smaller catalogs to more targeted customer segments. Hmm, could that be why I haven’t received a Lands' End catalog lately? Probably so.

Partially through this plan , Lands' End has reduced its catalog paper consumption by more than 30 percent over the last three years. An addendum to this targeted catalog plan is that Lands' End offers its customers the option of choosing how many catalogs they would like to receive during a year.

So, if I am likely to buy from Lands' End only to purchase gifts, then I might opt for receiving their catalog quarterly.

Like other retailers, Lands' End prefers to work with suppliers that practice sustainable forestry. "We continue to work within the supply chain to promote certification of forests and the use of chain of custody certification to track the certified fiber," according to a company statement.

The retailer has increased the use of certified fiber it uses and the amount of recycled paper used in its catalog materials. Catalog cover paper now contains at least 10 percent post-consumer recycled content. Additionally, the company has used 30 percent post-consumer waste copy paper at its corporate office for the past 10 years.

On the shipping front, Lands' End reduced the amount of corrugated cardboard packaging it uses. And, the corrugated cardboard Lands’ End does use contains 45 percent recycled fiber.

There's more, and we will revisit, but that presents a few worthy ideas. Have a green weekend.