By: Liza Murphy

The Rainforest Alliance relies on direct mail for much of our communications with members because it can be a great educational tool. And we don’t just explain how individuals can support responsible forest and farm management – we do so ourselves. All of our direct mail pieces are printed on paper that is certified to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. The FSC is the global standard-setter for responsible forest management. This means the paper comes from forests where biodiversity is conserved and communities are supported.

The Rainforest Alliance uses every direct mail piece that we send out to highlight a recent accomplishment in sustainable forestry, agriculture or tourism – the three areas in which we work – and to educate members about the connection between the products they buy and the environment and livelihoods of communities around the world. We tell people stories about how they can make a difference simply by choosing goods – including paper – that are produced in a sustainable way. Changing consumer behavior, along with land-use and business practices, is what we aim to do.

One of our most successful membership campaigns came soon after the Rainforest Alliance began using only FSC-certified paper in all of our direct mail. In the campaign, we explained how using FSC-certified paper supports companies that are logging forests responsibly and gives them an economic incentive to do the right thing, protecting soils and waterways and supporting forest workers. That mailer generated a 30-percent-higher response rate than membership outreach efforts around the same time in previous years.

The success of that campaign was driven partially by a perforated card (on FSC-certified paper, of course) that members could tear off and mail to their banks, utilities or any other companies they do business with, asking them to use FSC-certified paper in their mail. One of our goals is to include not only educational elements, outreach and engagement in our mail pieces, but also opportunities for members to take action and encourage businesses to make sound decisions that protect our planet.

Creating awareness about the environment and our role in protecting it is central to the mission of the Rainforest Alliance. And direct mail is an important way of getting that message out.

- Liza Murphy is senior manager of forestry marketing and business development for the Rainforest Alliance.