Direct-mail advertising usually consists of advertisements for products to be purchased from the home
the perception that it is bad for the environment is misguided. Because of direct-mail advertising, millions of people buy products by phone or online -- products whose purchase would otherwise require the use of a car, thus adding pollutants to the air.
A person who receives and reads a direct-mail advertisement is more likely to purchase the product advertised than is a person who reads an advertisement for a product in a magazine that they subscribe to.