Direct Mail Showcases its Sustainability Credentials

The mail channel continues to generate standout engagement while showcasing its sustainability credentials.

Mail Recycling Rates Reach All-Time High

Quarterly analysis from the Joint Industry Committee for Mail (JICMAIL) has highlighted that 88% of mail was recycled rather than thrown away in the third quarter of 2025. This is a record-high reading since tracking began in the second half of 2023.

JICMAIL Discovery users now receive the added benefits of the Carbon Footprint Calculator. This draws on data from CarbonQuota and allows mailers to measure the total carbon footprint of their campaigns, including carbon emissions per mail item and carbon emissions per ad impression (all measured in kilograms/grams of CO2e).

A CarbonQuota-driven calculator was also added to the PrintGreen website in early 2025, alongside integrated JICMAIL data to report on carbon emissions per mail ad impression.

Whistl (Posthub is part of the Whistl Group) has also made strides on sustainability and provides its own Fuel Carbon Calculator. Bulk mailers can calculate emissions and opt for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel rather than diesel for collections and trunking.  

Interactions with Direct Mail On the Rise

How did consumers engage with direct mail in Q3 2025?

Ad impressions generated by direct mail jumped to nearly 4.6 interactions per item, a 2.8 per cent rise year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the reach of each direct mail item grew to 1.15 people, a 1.5 per cent boost compared to the previous year.

The time direct mail spends in the home also increased. An average item of direct mail now lives in the home for 8.1 days, a nine per cent annual rise.

But perhaps the most impressive statistic focuses on the time we’re spending looking at the average piece of DM. This rose to 150 seconds, soaring 16 seconds on last year’s corresponding period.

Overall, it was a very promising quarter for all mail formats across the key metrics tracked by JICMAIL.

Mail Quarterly Results - Q3 2025

Mail Impacts Brand and Performance

Direct Mail continues to have a big impact on the marketing mix. Over 10 per cent of mail is passed on to other people in the household, a five-year high.

This is also backed-up by over 16 per cent of mail prompting an in-home discussion, which is a key indicator of customer retention and recommendation.

In another commercial boost, the number website visits being prompted by mail (9.4%) matched the record set during the Covid-19 lockdown in Q2 2020.

And the amount of mail prompting purchases (half of which are transacted online) has increased 7 per cent year-on-year.

Ad Spend in Mail Has Grown for Four Straight Quarters

Ian Gibbs, JICMAIL, Director of Data Leadership and Learning, said: “With the latest figures from AA and WARC telling us that ad spend in the mail channel has grown for four straight quarters, it has become even more important to measure the environmental impact of the channel."

"We hope marketers will use our carbon calculator data to target set, benchmark and optimise mail carbon emissions. Of paramount importance however is transparency in measurement – only by accurately assessing how mail contributes to overall targets can marketers expect to make sustainability-driven decisions with their marketing budgets.”

Mark Cross, Engagement Director, JICMAIL added: “Another release of JICMAIL data that demonstrates the Super Touchpoint powers of mail in the noisiest of ecosystems, challenging planners to unlock new value through combinations of Super Touchpoints, including mail, that drive disproportionate effects.

We are also very pleased to add a new gold standard metric on sustainability which can now be added to every mail plan.”

JICMAIL provides the gold standard of information and independent research relating to consumer activity with mail in the home. By utilising JICMAIL data, media planners benefit from a clear and accurate picture of the efficacy of mail campaigns.

Download the Q3 2025 Direct Mail Factsheet

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