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Unsubscribe from advertising by mail

Unsubscribe from advertising by mail - It's that easy!

How to unsubscribe from the advertising by mail? Some people love the free information and offers - but most people hate them and throw them in the garbage can at lightning speed. The hatred of advertising mailings is partly due to the fact that they unnecessarily generate extreme amounts of natural resources waste. And secondly, the fact that the paper and plastic waste causes your letterbox to overflow. This is not at all in keeping with the Zero Waste Lifestylewhere we consciously want to avoid waste. Fortunately, there are ways and means of stopping unwanted postal advertising!

I will now show you how to unsubscribe from advertising and ensure that your letterbox never bursts at the seams again. You can also find out whether letterbox advertising without consent is even permitted. Let's go!

Here is another short Overview about the article for you:

  1. Permitted without consent?
  2. Why unsubscribe?
  3. How to order them
  4. Closing words

Is letterbox advertising permitted without consent?

Advertising that lands in our letterboxes via direct mailing lists is called letterbox advertising. This generally includes personally addressed, partially addressed and unaddressed advertising mail, free advertising leaflets, advertising inserts and daily newspapers as well as advertising from political parties.

Mailbox advertising is (as of 25.03.2021) subject to competition law. permitted under Section 7 of the Unfair Competition Act (UWG). However, the posting of letterbox advertising is not permitted if we as the recipient expressly object to this form of advertising by post.

Why unsubscribe from unwanted advertising?

There are three main reasons to avoid unwanted advertising in the future and to make the short effort to unsubscribe.

These are the Advantages of the revocation of postal advertising:

  • Environmental protection: Waste of resources (paper & plastic) and Environmental issues counteract.
  • Minimalism: Exercise your right to free development without being harassed.
  • Mailbox: No more overflowing letterboxes.

"Einkauf aktuell", for example, is a free advertising leaflet that Deutsche Post distributes to around 20 million households every week.₁ So it's no wonder that around 1.2 billion kilograms of advertising is stuffed into our letterboxes every year (without consent). This results in around 35 kilograms of advertising waste per household every year.₂

However, the waste of resources goes beyond the waste of paper and plastic. The unwanted postal advertising also has to be printed and transported in an energy-intensive manner. A waste of resources that is particularly important in times of Climate change is to be avoided urgently.

How to unsubscribe from advertising by mail!

We have now answered two of the three essential questions about advertising mail! Now we'll answer the HOW. How can you unsubscribe from unsolicited mail? Here are five tips, all of which you should implement so that you can never again in your mailbox you will find.

1. file an objection (DSGVO compliant)

First use your Right of objection and object to postal advertising. Article 21 in the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) obliges companies to comply with the objection. A short letter or email is usually sufficient. For example, formulate your core message as follows:

I hereby object to the processing and use of my personal data for the purpose of direct marketing and any other promotional purposes in accordance with Article 21 of the General Data Protection Regulation.

As a loyal customer of your company, I expect you to make an effort to reduce your own paper and plastic waste for ecological reasons.

2. "No advertising" sticker

No advertising sticker
Sample "No advertising" sticker from keine-werbung.net (you get here*)

The revocation helps to limit postal advertising from certain companies. However, other companies are still allowed to send you advertising. That's why you should definitely put a "no advertising" sticker on your letterbox. Unfortunately, "No advertising" does not exclude editorial content. Advertising with a TV guide can therefore still be posted. The BGH therefore recommends a sticker with the inscription "No advertising brochures and no advertising leaflets". You are definitely on the absolutely safe side with the following inscription:

"No advertising, no flyers, no direct mail, no posting of free newspapers and weeklies"

You can design the sticker yourself and print it out or for example order online here*. Either way, by attaching it to your letterbox, you make it clear that you do not wish to receive any advertising by post.

Tip: Also feel free to distribute the stickers to your neighbors so that they too can live more sustainably and avoid waste.

3. register in DDV and ROBINSON list

You can also express your objection to mailbox advertising by registering on the so-called Robinson list of the German Direct Marketing Association e.V. clarify. You can also add your name to the Robinson list of the DDV German Dialog Marketing Association e. V. one. Many companies voluntarily adhere to the principle of not bothering registered persons and households with unwanted advertising in their letterboxes.

Here you can enter directly in both lists:

4. no improvement? Then threaten and contact consumer advice center

If a company is bothering you with postal advertising despite your objection and the sticker on your letterbox, then this is an unreasonable nuisance and therefore a violation of Section 7 (1) sentence 2 UWG. If this is the case, you should first make it clear once again by letter or email that you never want an advertisement from this company in your letterbox again.

Still no improvement? In the next step you can follow the Report your complaint to the consumer centerso that in the event of frequent violations by the company Warning procedure into being. An official complaint on your part can end up being expensive, so the route via the consumer advice center is usually the better one.

5. support lawsuit / petition for landmark ruling & opt-in solution

Despite all efforts, many people continue to receive unlawful advertising by post. That is why the Berlin initiative "Last advertising founded, which filed a lawsuit Fundamental ruling and in the medium term a "Opt-in solution" in the fight against advertising waste. The latter means that only households that expressly request it receive advertising. Currently, it is the other way around: letterbox advertising legally ends up in the post for those who do not expressly object.

Here you can Support the petition of the "Letzte Werbung" initiative now!

Unsubscribe from advertising mail made easy!

A revocation and a sticker on your letterbox can make a big difference and help you, Reduce paper waste and Reducing plastic waste. If these measures are not enough, you will have to bring out the big guns. As soon as you have expressly objected to the advertising by post, you are definitely in the right.

I hope that this article has helped you to create a more environmentally friendly and minimalist letterbox. Do you have any questions or further tips in the fight against advertising waste? Then feel free to write me a comment!

Stay sustainable,

Christoph from CareElite - Plastic-free living

PS.: There are dozens of other ways to conserve resources in everyday life. In the linked article I present you my best tips for this!

References:
₁ B. Wintermantel: "Einkauf aktuell": Umweltschützer wollen Deutsche Post verklagen (as at: 16.12.2019), available at https://t1p.de/xgaa. [25.03.2021].

₂ Letzte Werbung e.V.: Knowledge & Study, available at https://www.letzte-werbung.de/wissen-studie. [25.03.2021].

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* Links with asterisks are so-called Affiliate linksIf you click on it and buy something, you automatically and actively support my work with CareElite.de, as I receive a small share of the proceeds - and of course nothing changes in the product price. Many thanks for your support and best regards, Christoph!

Christoph Schulz

Christoph Schulz

I'm Christoph, an environmental scientist and author - and here at CareElite I'm campaigning against plastic waste in the environment, climate change and all the other major environmental problems of our time. Together with other environmentally conscious bloggers, I want to give you tips & tricks for a naturally healthy, sustainable life as well as your personal development.

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