Forever stamps are stamps that can be used to mail a one-ounce letter regardless of when the stamps are purchased or used, or regardless of future changes in prices. They were first introduced in April 2007.
The latest Forever stamps, the Go Green stamps, are lead-free and made of 100 percent recycled materials. They feature colorful cartoon-like illustrations of 15 specific actions that people can take to save energy and natural resources. One stamp, featuring a drawing of a walking dog, bears the slogan “Go Green – reduce our environmental footprint”.
Award-winning animator, filmmaker and illustrator Eli Noyes teamed up with his daughter, art director Derry Noyes to create the designs. The collection is Mr. Noyes’s first stamp project, and was drawn in a playful style to convey the message that every American can do the simple actions depicted.
Almost a third of the stamps, 5 out of 16, give tips on reducing fuel consumption. These stamps bear drawings of people sharing rides, walking, riding a bike, taking the bus and maintaining the car.
Actions on energy efficiency and conservation were depicted on another set of five stamps, such as turning off lights when not in use, installing efficient light bulbs, adjusting the thermostat, insulating a home’s windows and hanging clothes to dry under the sun in a clothesline.
The rest of the stamps feature other climate change mitigating and environmental actions such as fixing water leaks, recycling from trash, composting, buying local produce and reusing bags and planting trees.
A complete 16-piece collection of the Go Green stamps costs $7.04, while an uncut press sheet costs $63.36. They can be ordered online or purchased from local post office facilities.
The launch was held near the largest green garden in the Washington D.C. public school system, at Savoy Elementary School, and the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School. At the close of the launch, an electric vehicle arrived bearing ceremonious, indigenous tress for the schools.
The United States Postal Service is the first American federal agency to report its third-party verified greenhouse gas emissions through the Climate Registry. It aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020.
Apart from the stamps, the agency also offers eco-friendly postcards, recycled material mail tote bags, and green delivery packaging. It offers Cradle-to-Cradle certified products, which means these items are either biodegradable or recyclable, with 100 parts per million or less of toxicity levels.
The agency also prides itself in being a pioneer in the use of electric vehicles, when it first tested an electric vehicle for mail collection way back in 1899, in Buffalo, New York.
