IPad catalog shopping application Catalog Spree is partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant one tree per download during the month of April.

The campaign is designed to raise awareness of how the consumption of print catalogs impacts the environment. Catalog Spree will plant one tree for every app download – up to 25,000 – in the Pike National Forest in Colorado.

“One of the many amazing things about mobile devices is that they enable consumers to consume media in such an eco-friendly manner and millions of people are looking for alternatives to traditional catalogs, which are often viewed as wasteful,” said Joaquin Ruiz, CEO of Catalog Spree.

“Catalog Spree’s mission has always been tied to sustainability, and through our app, we are directly helping retailers reduce the amount of printing, paper and postage costs tied to their traditional catalogs.

“Through this campaign, we want to demonstrate how apps like Catalog Spree are actually benefitting the environment, serving as a new prospecting channel for retailers, and finally, providing consumers with a new – and widely popular – way to consume their favorite catalogs.”

Catalog Spree was developed by Padopolis,  a mobile app software development company based in San Francisco.

Raising awareness
According to figures cited by Catalog Spree, approximately 53 million trees are cut down each year to produce  3.6 million tons of paper, which is used to print the 19 billion catalogs mailed in the United States each year.

The company is positioning the free iPad app as a way for consumers to continue enjoying access to catalogs but in a more sustainable way.

Catalog Spree’s iPad app allows users to browse more than 200 catalogs, including Neiman Marcus, Sears and JCPenney.

Through the campaign, the company hopes to raise visibility and awareness of the natural resources consumed by printed catalog and to encourage sustainable behavior such as consuming catalogs digitally.

The campaign is being promoted via a new landing page launched by Catalog Spree where consumers can learn more about the initiative, download the app and share the news on social networks. The company is promoting the landing page through its social media marketing channels and via e-mail to customers.

Making a statement
Shopping via Catalog Spree provides benefits to users in addition to not wasting paper.

Consumers can easily discover new brands and have the convenience of being able to access catalogs by a variety of categories, including month, brand, departments or those most recently published.

Shoppers can also tag and share favorite items from within the app as well as create lists of favorite items.

Catalog Spree is one of a growing number of catalog shopping apps that are available to consumers.

Last year, Google launched Google Catalogs, a free app that lets users browse catalogs from Macy’s, Brooks Brothers, Pottery Barn and others via the iPad

Catalogs.com has also introduced an iPad app for multiple catalogs. Catalogs.com launched in 1996 as a shopping site where visitors could find online versions of multiple catalogs.

There is also Catalogue by TheFind, which in its latest version lets users check the real-time availability of inventory at local stores. The app is available for Kindle Fire, Android tablets and large screen Android phones.

“When consumers download the app, they are making a statement that they want to consume some or all of their catalogs in a digital format, thus lessening the reliance of traditional paper catalogs,” Mr. Ruiz said.

“We wanted to recognize that behavior and help create a movement that supports sustainable practices in the catalog industry,” he said.