Exclusive: Royal Mail slammed over "ridiculously wasteful" marketing campaign

Royal Mail has attracted fierce criticism after it attempted to promote its direct mail services using a direct mail campaign that prompted one recipient to describe it as the "worst example of junk mail I have ever seen".

The company's Direct Mail Seed Box campaign saw a cardboard box resembling a seed box and containing nine pamphlets each styled as seed packets and containing information on how to formulate a direct mail strategy sent to potential customers of Royal Mail's direct mail services.

However, the 23cm x 12cm x 13cm box infuriated one BusinessGreen.com reader who contacted the site to complain at what she regarded as a " ridiculously wasteful" example of junk mail.

"The box doesn't fit the purpose, and environmentally it is an insult," she said. "It illustrates very clearly precisely how seriously Royal Mail takes its environmental responsibilities."

A spokesman for Royal Mail said that the booklets in the "seed box" were made from FSC wood free stock and that both the booklets and the box are completely recyclable.

He added that the box was sent to a "limited number" of marketing campaign implementers and media agency staff and was intended to "serve a dual purpose as a "leave behind" that the recipients could keep and re-use when planning campaigns."

In addition, he claimed that the company has an integrated Carbon Management Programme in place that is designed to cut its environmental impact and carbon emissions and "works very closely with its customers to help them reduce the impact of mail campaigns, for example by encouraging them to use sustainable materials and more effectively target their communications."

However, a spokesman for advisory group Waste Watch argued that the campaign still appeared to contradict environmental best practices.

"Direct mail is a difficult area, but as a rule you’d encourage firms to only send material if necessary and keep packaging to an absolute minimum," he said, adding that there was also a growing risk that direct mail campaigns such as that pursued by Royal Mail would only serve to "alienate" environmentally-conscious customers.

UK trade group the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) declined to comment on the Royal Mail campaign specifically, but did say that it was constantly seeking to promote environmental best practices among its members.

Robert Keitch, director of environmental affairs at the DMA, said that the group was working with the BSI on a standard for more environmentally sustainable direct mail campaigns, which it hoped to publish in November.

He added that once the standard was in place the group would consider developing a code of practice that would help ensure that its members develop direct mail campaigns that are relevant to target customers and seek to minimise environmental impacts.