NEW YORK, Aug. 6 /EMWNews/ -- The Direct Marketing Association

issued the following statement in response to a report released by Forest

Ethics:



    "Advertising mail doesn't kill forests, but eliminating it will help

kill thousands of American jobs."



    Facts and Background Information About Advertising Mail:



    Mail matters to small businesses. Direct mail is critical to the

economic well-being of communities, businesses and charities throughout the

United States. Last year it represented more than $686 billion in sales,

supporting jobs at more than 300,000 small businesses across the country.

Those jobs would be decimated if groups like Forest Ethics had their way.



    Mail is made from a renewable resource. The vast majority of paper

produced in America today comes from trees that are grown as managed crops

for that specific purpose, and the forest industry ensures that the number

of trees each year is increasing so trees are not a depleting resource. In

fact, forest land in the United States has increased by 5.3 million acres

in the last three decades. (EPA's 2008 Report on the Environment, p. 6-10)



    Mail is recyclable in the majority of communities in the U.S. In fact,

according to the American Forestry and Paper Association, 55% of all paper

consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling in 2007. This paper

recovery averages around 360 pounds for every man, woman and child in the

United States.



    Mail recipients have choices. To help consumers control what they

receive in their mailboxes, the Direct Marketing Association developed

http://www.dmachoice.org. DMAChoice.org is our consumer portal that houses MPS

(Mail Preference Service), the 36 year old DMA service that enables

consumers to express their preferences regarding the suppression and, more

recently, the modification of direct mail marketing solicitations.

DMAChoice is a direct marketing community service free online to consumers.