Printing Substance Alarms Lands’ End Customers
Lands’ End has received only three or four calls a day from concerned customers since the start of the anthrax scare.
But a couple have been from people who said, “I see some white powder on my catalog,” said Beverly Holmes, spokesperson for the Dodgeville, WI, cataloger.
The company investigated.
Printers use the corn-starch-like substance called a “slip agent” to keep catalog pages from sticking to each other, said Katherine Divita, spokesperson at R.R. Donnelley, printer for Lands’ End. It is not used for each print job.
“This powder is non-toxic and manufacturers’ data indicates that there is no risk to employees working with these substances or to the general public,” said a statement put out by the printer.
The Chicago-based printing giant is working with Lands’ End and its other catalog clients to reduce or eliminate the use of the substance. “We are working with each of our customers to see what the effect of eliminating it would be on each catalog,” Divita said. “We are eliminating all that we can.”
There have been so few anthrax-related calls that Lands’ End has no plans to contact customers about the situation, said Holmes. Instead, the cataloger deals with customer concerns as they occur.
A handful have asked if they should worry about opening their mail. “We tell them if a box arrives and looks like it’s been punctured or tampered with, call us and we will replace those items,” Holmes said.
The company assures customers that packing and shipping processes are secure. It has reviewed these processes with employees. “We’re confident that the packages that we’re sending out are safe because we have employees touching them at every stage,” Holmes continued.
Merchandise is placed in clear plastic bags before it is packed in boxes. Workers check to be sure the bags aren’t torn. In the shipping area, Lands’ End staffers load United Parcel Service trucks themselves.
Mailings and circulation plans have not changed for the quarter.
“There’s a high trust level with our customer,” Holmes said. “Our logo is on every piece.”
