Letter writers critique postal advertising's environmental impact and question charity mailing practices
Letter writers have criticised the environmental cost of postal advertising, noting that large volumes of printed mail are mostly unread and about 99% of it is recycled. They argue that postal advertising should have disappeared in the online age.
One writer, Daniel Owen of Torrington, Devon, expressed support for ending postal marketing and said he would accept the demise of letter writing if postal marketing ends. Another writer, Marlene McAndrew of London, questioned why charities repeatedly send Christmas appeals to the same recipients.
McAndrew requested data on what portion of the charity Crisis's income is spent on designing, printing, packing, and posting mail to thousands of addresses, and whether this strategy leads to repeated donations.
These letters reference a Guardian editorial on the decline of letters titled "The Guardian view on sending letters: the writing's on the wall," published on 22 December, which provided context for the discussion.
The letters section was published on 29 December 2025.
