Against the 'green?'.

Retailers are getting a bad rap for sending out thousands of wasted catalogs (and often duplicates) to the same household, wrong addresses, etc. However, some retailers are using technology solutions to prevent duplicate mailings, wrongly addressed entries and outright bogus online requests.

A new Web service says it provides "real-time tools that provide businesses and mail-order houses with the ability to keep customer lists current," by matching them to the weekly updated USPA[R] NCOALink change-of-address file.

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Some of the startling statistics below may be of interest to businesses that mail catalogs:

* More than 8 million tons of trees are consumed each year in the production of paper catalogs.

* Nearly half of the planet's original forest cover is gone today as forests have effectively disappeared in 25 countries; another 29 countries have lost more than 29 percent of their forest cover.

* Deforestation contributes between 20 percent and 25 percent of all carbon pollution, causing global climate change.

* More than 1 billion people living in extreme poverty around the world depend on forests for their livelihoods.

* Among other significant environmental impacts from the catalog cycle: the production and disposal of direct mail alone consumes more energy than 3 million autos.