April 9, 2012
(I bought a case of Spirulina & Cashew Raw Revolution organic live food bars and had a few things to say about it....)
Please describe your complaint
First of all, I want to thank you for making raw, organic, live food bars!
Second, as someone interested in health, I would certainly not mind a lower sugar (agave) content. I don't need super sweet foods and care more about the protein and other nutrients. Besides, agave is not a healthy sweetener.
Third, and the reason I am compelled to contact you, is that when I received my case of bars, and opened my first bar, I was surprised by the size. Not that it was falsly advertized, exactly, but because it's contained in at least a third more packaging than is necessary. A huge empty area of unecessary packaging. There are discerning consumers out here that do care about this kind of thing. I really hope that the plastic wrapper was not created this large to fit the quote about about "healing the global ecology"... could that be more ironic?
Please tell us what you would like to have done in response to your complaint
Reduce the size of your packaging!
Reduce, or remove, agave and use more dates or other dried fruit?
Sending me other flavors of bars to try would be awesome and I'd tell everyone you're a wonderful company that listens.
activism (2), letters (4), raw (1), raw-revolution (1), vegetarianism (2)
Letters (4)
March 31, 2012
Several weeks ago I called and requested that my address be removed from your mailing list. Yet, each week I get a letter from you (addressed to "Jacob Westra or Current Resident") with offers for your service. I've lived here for two and a half years and have never known a "Jacob Westra". While it's also addressed to "Current Resident", this resident does not want to take the time to sort your junk mail into my recycle bin.
Since I do not usually bother to open the envelope, I don't know if they always have it, but the letter this week included a plastic "xfinity", "prepaid card", that I'm not even sure can be recycled, and I know the plastic window on the envelope and glossy insert are not recyclable.
I've used your services in the past, but I currently do not use services from your company. Every time I get one of these letters, wasting resources, or have to turn away pushy door-to-door solicitors of your services, I grow farther from ever returning to choose services from you. This is disrespectful of me, damaging to the environment, and a waste of your marketing dollars. Seeing how Comcast wastes money on this kind of un-environmental marketing, it is obvious I would not get the best services for my money. I choose companies that put my money toward the services I pay for, not toward destroying the environment and throwing money away.
Once again, stop sending me trash and remove this address from your mailing list.
comcast (1), junk mail (2), letters (4), spam (2)
Letters (4)
February 17, 2012
I may have been a member at one time or donated a modest sum to Sierra Club... but how many US wall maps and stickers and stamps do you think I need? I regularly receive an envelope stuffed heavy with letters and such things and it seems Sierra Club has easily used up the money I've contributed just trying to get me to contribute more. Well I'm unable to contribute more, but if I was, it's obvious that Sierra Club does not use money wisely.
Thank you for using recycled paper, however, I know that makes the printing even more expensive.
Seriously, how many US wall maps do you need to send to one person?
Please use your funds on less junk and remove me from your mailing list.
Update 02/21/2012: Response from Sierra Club
"Thank you for contacting the Sierra Club.
"I have requested that future mailings from the Sierra Club are stopped from being sent to you with the information that you have provided. Please be aware this could take up to 6 weeks to complete. If you are to receive any future mailings from us please mark the envelope as 'Refused' and return to us. This process will ensure prompt removal from our mailing list as well as giving us the ability to reuse many of the enclosed materials.
"We are looking at other, more efficient and less wasteful ways to acquire members including email, internet and phone contacts. But many of our members do not have access to the internet, and prefer not to be called by phone, which is very expensive to facilitate and monitor.
"As a non profit organization, mail fundraising is a technique that is not only cost efficient, but vital to our well-being. The mailings we send give information on current issues, and the majority of the package can be recycled and are made from all recycled materials.
"Also, our total fundraising (mail, phone, email, etc) budget only encompasses about 7.6% of our total budget, while we spend 63.5% on influencing public policy, information, education, and outdoor activities. So, the money we spend on fighting forest depletion at its core, where policy begins, far outweighs the money spent on mail packages that degrade in less than a year - and those mailings solicit substantial financial support for our programs. I'd be happy to send you our latest financial report if you are interested.
"Anyone can opt off of our mail, phone, and email lists at any time."
Update 04/02/2112: I got another thick envelope stuffed with map, stickers, etc.
junk mail (2), letters (4), sierra club (1), spam (2)
Letters (4)
June 25, 2010
I got an email from the Sierra Club to "plant a flag" for "freedom from oil". I clicked on the link and was taken to a webpage thanking me for planting a flag. That bothered me. I just wanted more information. With the BP oil spilling into the ocean, the thought of littering the DC Mall lawn with plastic did not seem like the right thing to do.
I emailed the Sierra Club asking for more information about what the flags are made of.
The campaign:
http://letsmovebeyondoil.org/
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2010/06/plant-a-flag-for-freedom-from-oil.html
My initial email inquiry:
I clicked on a link in a recent email "Five Days Left for Freedom from Oil" and automatically "planted a flag".
What I want is more information about this, in particular, what are the flags made of? Are these plastic flags? Thousands of petroleum-based flags for "Freedom from Oil" would be ironic, wasteful, and wrong.
I'd much rather plant a tree or mushroom patch.
Thank you,
Arianna Helen
After a couple days, this was their response to my email:
Dear Arianna,
Thank you for contacting the Sierra Club.
The flags that we are planting are made of wooden dowels and fabric, all made in the U.S.A. Here's a link to the vendor:
http://www.wholesalestickflags.com/index.html
Your support of the Sierra Club is greatly appreciated. Please let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns.
Best Regards,
David Perry
Sierra Club Information
And my email back:
Thank you for the response.
The website is not clear about the materials, such as, what the "spear-tips" are made of. If the dowels are wooden, is that wood sustainably harvested? Also, from the descriptions of the larger flags, it seems the fabric used could be either nylon or a poly/cotton blend. Both nylon or polyester are petroleum-based fabrics. It's great that the flags are "made in the USA" but what they are made of is important for a campaign such as this.
With millions of gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf, it would be an ironic and irresponsible statement about petroleum dependance to "plant" more of it in a lawn. It would show ignorance about how insidious the oil dependance is in our modern culture and how we have gotten to this crisis to begin with.
Thank you so much for your time and well-intended work,
Arianna Helen
Today is the demonstration and I hope it goes well for them, but I also hope that at the very least they are more mindful of how, and with what, they choose to make their statements.
activism (2), environment (3), flags (1), letters (4), oil (1)
Letters (4)
Arianna Helen