Metropolitan Home is being put to bed for good.

I suffered reflux trying to digest the death of Gourmet, one of four Condé Nast publications closed recently. I didn’t sample the food bible much but felt nostalgic about it as an American institution. I only picked up Modern Bride a few times when plotting my wedding. (I had the main prop but needed flowers and a dress.)

Now, achy-breaky heartburn ensues from Hachette’s news about …

Tags: accessories , ad recession , apartments , broadcasting , Conde Nast , Crackberry , decor , design , Donna Warner , Dorothy Kalins , dwell , eco , fabrics , furniture , Gourmet , home , home magazines , journalism students , Kenny Scharf , Magazines , Metropolitan Home , Modern Bride , Northwestern University Medill School , paper , print is dead , remodel , small spaces , sustain

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Kaiser Permanente is prescribing big doses of sustainability in the sixth season of its $50 million Thrive ad campaign.

Two new ads – Emerald Cities and Connected – reinforce the health care provider’s commitment to the planet by dramatically reducing paper use – no small task for an industry long married to countless charts and forms. For most of us, being ordered to “Fill this out” is as rote as, “Hop on the scale,” and just as painful.

The Emerald pitch describes how Kaiser is allowing patients …

Tags: advertising , Allison Janey , American health , care , doctor visits , doctors , e-mail , eco , electronic health records , fuel , gas , green , Health insurance , hopsitals , information , Kaiser Permanente , medicine , paper , patients , prevention , radio , reduce , sustainability , television , thrive , trees

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If you’re sending correspondence through the mail these days, why not design your own stamps to promote your green message?

Many sites, including Zazzle.com, allow you to either select from their designs or customize your own using photos or images downloaded from your computer.

If you decide to make stamps for a special occasion, remember to weigh whatever you’ll be mailing before you order so you can specify the correct postage amount. If you aren’t going the route of Evites or other email invitations, using stamps that say something …

Tags: conservation , earth , eco friendly , endangered species , fair trade , green , hang dry clothing , invitations , mail , messages , paper , post office , postage , postal , recycling , slogans , stamps

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Gourmet Magazine, an American classic, found a slump in add sales spelled the recipe for disaster.

That’s why Conde Nast Publications is closing the oldest food magazine in the US along with Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, and the parent magazine Cookie, which I have to admit I’ve only glanced at in the doctor’s office waiting room.

While the bride magazines are used as sources to stimulate ideas for women planning their big events, Gourmet has long been the bible of American epicureans, fond of cutting …

Tags: ads , Brad Pitt , circulation , cocktails , Conde Nast , cooking , food , Gourmet , Magazines , Modern Bride , organic , paper , print , recession , recipes , vodka

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Welcome to The September Issue, a frockumentary chronicling the genius behind the fattest ever edition of Vogue, weighing in at over four pounds, reaching 13 million readers and boosting the sinking morale of the $300-billion global fashion industry.

I don’t know about you but I don’t like my documentaries contrived any more than my fashion. Albeit entertaining, this one by R.J. Cutler smacks of high level spin and pretense.

Adding to the “entertainment value” was an art-versus-bottom dollar subplot pitting the painfully bored Vogue chief Anna Wintour against brilliant, model-turned-photo stylist …

Tags: ads , animal cruelty , art , corporate , fashion , films , fur , money , paper , recession , The September Issue , Vogue magazine

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Read all about it! Entertainment Weekly has published the first video advert with built-in speakers to get the attention of readers conditioned to respond to screens.

A report by the BBC explains the screen is built into a wafer-thin, cardboard insert and contains an ad for Pepsi Max, as well as trailers for CBS television.

“This is an extraordinary way to refresh how we interact with consumers,” said Pepsi-Cola’s chief marketing officer, Frank Cooper.

Desperate ploy, marketing breakthrough or annoyance? The chip technology, which holds up …

Tags: adverts , batteries , CBS , computers , consumers , entertainment , greeting cards , liquid crystal display , Magazines , media , paper , Pepsi , print , readers , rechargeable , sales , technology , television ads

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In this era of voice mail, email and messages limited to 140 characters telling friends and family how and what you’re doing, a genuine hand written message is a true gift.

Of course, there’s no wrong way to tell someone you care. As long as you’re speaking from the heart, the sentiment will surely be appreciated. But a handwritten note expressing encouragement to a friend or relative who may be going through a difficult time is more personal. A real letter dropped in the snail mail will …

Tags: letters , lifestyle , paper , recycled , trees

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While we generally avoid traditional paper gift wrap these days, a Berkeley MBA and mom has developed a line of more responsible coverage for those gifts: reusable, recycled bags.

Josie Gaillard’s Living Ethos made its debut in San Francisco this summer in selected boutiques. Now, the versatile and vivacious eco-chic wrap is available on the web.

What makes this attractive paper one to chase?

The sustainable gift bags come in 30 varied prints that are as attractive as upholstery fabrics. But instead of being assembled …

Tags: anniversaries , birthdays , Conserve , eco friendly. gifts , gifts , occasions , paper , PET bottles , plastic , recycle , resuse , showers , sustainable , weddings , wrapping paper

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Raising the price of our postage just isn’t doing it for the U.S. Postal Service which reports a $2.4 billion loss at the end of its third quarter (April 1 – June 30).

My kids did their part by sending lots of letters from camp, but most of America has seen a dismal decline in mail volume, which according to the Postal News has fallen by nearly 20 billion pieces in 2009 compared to the first three quarters of last year. Blame it on the widespread economic recession and electronic mail.

The …

Tags: automated service , electronic mail , letters , losses , mail , paper , post office , postage , recession , workers comp

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