Snap a photo of physical junk mail, become unsubscribed

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Snap a photo of physical junk mail, become unsubscribed

Seattle-based Readabl’s PaperKarma mobile app lets users submit a photograph of each piece of junk mail they’d like to stop receiving, and then works to make that happen.

30th March 2012 in Life Hacks.

No one likes junk mail, and the average US household receives some 850 pieces of it over the course of a year. Whereas French Pubeco aims to shift such communications to the online sphere, Readabl’sPaperKarma mobile app lets users submit a photograph of each piece of junk mail they’d like to stop receiving, and then works to make that happen.

Roughly 44 percent of unsolicited mail in the US ends up in landfills each year without ever being opened, according to Seattle-based Readabl. Aiming to help address that problem, the company’s PaperKarma app enables users to simply snap a picture of an unwanted piece of junk mail and press “send” to become unsubscribed from the mailing list that generated it. The company explains: “We work closely with the source companies to help you unsubscribe from catalogs, magazines, credit card offers, etc. and optionally – i.e., if you explicitly choose to – convert you to the corresponding online (email) versions.” Launched earlier this year, the free PaperKarma app is now available for Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone.

Of course, unwanted mass mailings aren’t just a problem for consumers — such fruitless effort also represents a significant waste for the companies that send them. How can your brand help to reduce the many resources wasted this way?

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Is Starbucks ditching bug dye from its Strawberry Frappuccinos?

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(Credit: AP)

(CBS News) Are Starbucks' Strawberries & Creme Frappuccinos about to undergo an ingredient makeover?

Starbucks likely to change controversial drink
Starbucks Strawberry Frappuccinos dyed with crushed up cochineal bugs, report says

Last week, the vegan and vegetarian news site, thisdishisvegetarian.com, reported that the popular pink drink was colored by "cochineal extract," a dye that comes from the crushed dried bodies of cochineal bugs.

The extract is somtimes called carmine or crimson lake. Despite the dye's use dating back thousands of years when it was first used to color fabric, a bug brouhaha boiled over as protests and petitions from outraged vegan groups were ramped up.

"This was known as a drink that vegans can safely consume," Daelyn Fortney, co-founder of thisdishisvegetarian.com, told USA Today. "We're not trying to cause any problems. Our point is, vegans are drinking this and it's not vegan."

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sat down with CBS This Morning and discussed the bug backlash.

"No good deed goes undone," Schultz said, alluding to the fact that Starbucks switched from artificial coloring to a natural ingredient.

"We tried to embrace an all-natural method for this product. In fact, we discovered that most women in America wearing red lipstick have this ingredient," he said. "It's everywhere, it's all-natural."

Schultz may not be exaggerating when he says it's everywhere. BuzzFeed reports products like strawberry Yoplait or Mango Madness Snapple contain the coloring agent.  KPHO CBS 5 in Phoenix reports it's also found in some cheeses and in women's cosmetics like one Cover Girl Blush and one Revlon Lip Gloss.

But whether you're vegan or just plain don't like the idea of  consuming bugs, fans of the strawberry frozen drink may soon be able to have it without worry: Schultz said the company will "probably" switch out the beleaguered ingredient for another all-natural alternative.

"We are examining it and probably will reformulate it," Shultz said. "We're looking at (alternative ingredients). We're going to make the right decision."

Here is Howard Schultz on CBS This Morning:

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