Restoration Hardware's Catalog Lands With a Thud

June 11--Restoration Hardware's gargantuan annual catalog, which set a record this year with a bundle of 13 "sourcebooks" totaling more than 3,000 pages and weighing 17 pounds, has sent critics on social media into an indignant tizzy.

People who got home to find the encyclopedia set for farm tables and distressed leather arm chairs on their doorsteps have taken to Twitter during the last week to call the catalog "wasteful," "appalling," "hands down the most reckless/unnecessary marketing ploy ever" and a risk for shoulder injuries from lugging it inside.

A tumblr.com page called Deforestation Hardware is organizing a mass return of the "unwanted mailings" Saturday to an RH Baby and Child store in Santa Monica.

It seems almost quaint that just three years ago people felt similarly ecologically and philosophically affronted, if somewhat impressed, by the 2011 debut of Restoration Hardware's mega catalog, at the time a semi-annual affair numbering 616 pages and weighing more than three pounds.

Industry analysts quoted in stories about the tome at the time reasoned people could be more likely to linger with and less likely to toss a beautifully photographed catalog that felt like a coffee table book. It has grown bigger every year since.

In a delivery confirmation email sent to recipients of the recent monster catalog -- which includes nine category books and four lifestyle books, though not everyone received all of them -- Restoration Hardware highlighted that the heavier load equates to a lighter carbon footprint, as they all come in one package just once a year.

"Combined with our carbon-neutral shipping practices and our responsibly sourced paper, that adds up to a significantly reduced impact on the environment," the email said.

In an article last month in Racked, Restoration Hardware CEO Gary Friedman described the massive catalog investment as a way to stand out from competitors that the Internet can't provide.

"It's important to have the physical manifestation of the product so the customer can know what we have," Friedman was quoted as saying. "When you see their book, and its six pages, and then you see ours, which is 300 pages, you think, 'wow, these guys have a lot!' and that's the difference.

"There's also a way to integrate the way you shop, how you organize your selection to the customer," he continued. "We do it in two ways, by offering a category-dominance approach or lifestyle books where you can find inspiring ideas. They are both necessary to shopping."

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Restoration Hardware's Catalog Lands With a Thud