Green Marketing or Greenwashing: Promoting Environmental Initiatives

assuage any guilt they might feel about consuming mass quantities of unnecessary, disposable goods by dutifully tossing these items into their recycling bins and hauling them out to the curb each week”. (Westervelt, Amy. "Can Recycling Be Bad for the Environment?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2015). So why is the reason that companies are starting to “Go Green”? Its clearly obvious that the change in America from an industrial country to a environmental country has taught big business how to market environmentalism in mass quantities of their product. The strategy of the consumption-environment mindset are increasing rapidly. If this trend of buying without thinking does not slow down, with problems like not shifting priority from consumption to being environmentally aware, things will certainly worsen. On the topic of green marketing, people often see that green marketing refers to the advertising of objects or products with environmental characteristics to them (Like the Nestle bottle, for example). Terms like “Environmentally Friendly”, “Refillable”, and “Recyclable”, are some of the things people associate with green marketing. In reality

Many firms are learning that being environmentally friendly and sustainable has numerous benefits. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). This could enable them to increase goodwill from various stakeholders and also save money in the long term. This will mean that they are being more efficient and less wasteful of resources, which will enable them to be more competitive by satisfying stakeholders. The CEO of

The rise of green products and the want of consumers to become more environmentally friendly has been increasing. In 10 Green Marketing Milestones, the reading mentioned how the “rise of the Toyota Prius: It may not have saved the world, but at 1 million cumulative vehicle sales the Prius became the predominant fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle” (Neff 2). This is an example of how companies are actually wanting to go green in order to make more profit and rise above their competitors. Going off the Prius example, it was also mentioned how Hummer cars, which use an excess amount of fuel, sales have plummeted. This was because this model no longer appealed to the consumers and General Motor’s had to discontinue the model and even went bankrupt. This sale tactic works and is so successful because the consumer’s mindset have evolved to seek things that are better for the environment. Many would prefer Toyota over General Motor because of their company’s reputation with being green. Although this might not work for all companies, but for some, they have become more successful than their competitors by going green and so, convincing more and more to

Being “Green” is an economic and socially driven philosophy that many companies adapt in an effort to help improve the environment and attract more customers into buying their products. Companies claiming to be “Green” started when more customers became aware of the growing effects of global warming and began to show interest in helping the environment by recycling, reusing, and reducing their products. Two companies, McDonalds and Apple, sought to join the Green Movement. They make the company look “Green” by eliminating their waste products that mostly end up in landfills and by saving energy through renewable sources. However, their claims may be questioned because of the way their products are made and the transportation involved in shipping them. In the book, Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in a Time of Climate Crisis, Vandana Shiva expresses how companies play a big role in global warming due to deforestation and chemical emissions being released by the burning of fossil

In recent years, when the concept of sustainability is raising up, there is high percentage of customers who aware about the green products (Rather & Rajendran 2014), they do not only consider about the product or

Environmental lobbyists and governments are pressuring the fast-food firms to become more ‘green’ (Greenpeace, 2012). Rainforests are being destroyed to increase the area of land for beef production to meet the demand for beef-burgers (Kline, 2007). Recycling is a prominent global issue and in response, McDonald 's adopted recyclable packaging. Increased environmental awareness among consumers provides firms with a significant opportunity to position themselves as ‘green’ to garner customer loyalty (National Pollution Prevention Centre for Higher Education, 1995).

On your weekly trip to the supermarket it’s easy to find a number of products, from coffee to dishwashing soap, that flaunt their green attributes” (American Psychological Association, 2010). With such rumors of greenwashing, consumers are more confused than ever. However, some consumers know the tricks and are coming to find that there are companies whose marketing practices are legit, not exaggerated or deceiving. APA also found that, “people are willing to spend more of their hard-earned green on green products, according to a 2008 survey of 9,000 adults performed by the global business firm Boston Consulting Group” (American Psychological Association, 2010). Consumers who are willing to pay more for a product or service are assuming that they are purchasing a healthier, safer, and better quality product or service for the environment.

One major problem as far as companies using green marketing and why it isn’t working is that the relatively vague definition of green marketing leaves a lot of room for loopholes. Green marketing, by simply being defined as “the marketing of products that are assumed to be environmentally safe,” allows companies to take advantage of this idea even if their products are not the best example of green ones (McClendon 1). Most companies also don’t practice what they preach in such

This paper investigates the impact of green supply chain management on industry, consumer perception and environment. Through research into multiple companies and case studies, a distorted perception among large corporations shows a historic struggle to find a balance between profit and sustainability. However, the potential long-term effects of the lack of environmental courtesy cannot be undone and therefore must be carefully engineered. Multi-billion dollar automotive corporations such as Hyundai and Toyota will be discussed and studied in depth to conclude the innovative changes contributed in the automotive industry resulting in maximum efficiency in lean and green production. Additionally, while studying these companies, the overall question of whether intentional sustainable practices provide increased customer satisfaction and comfort is answered through a survey given to 100 random people. In this small sample, it was found that 33% of consumers care about green business practices in automotive production but only 8% saw an increase in value because of it.

Like the Military of Defense decision implemented within the United Kingdom, companies choose to green their management decisions to appeal to consumers. The MoD’s decision to use environmentally-friendly

Green Marketing principles are important because it allows companies to satisfy the expectations of customers, shareholders, and their community. Furthermore, because of what Enron has done, customers and communities and place higher expectations on businesses to do the right thing. Also, being a green company is different than normal or traditional business. They have to practice what they preach and maintain throughout the longevity of the

 Green marketing is a vital constituent of the holistic marketing concept. It is particularly applicable to businesses that are directly dependent on the physical environment; for example, industries like fishing, processed foods, tourism and adventure sports. Changes in the physical environment may pose a threat to such industries. Many global players in diverse businesses are now successfully implementing green marketing practices.

It is no surprise that a steadily growing group of consumers pro-actively look for companies with ‘sustainable’ products and production methods. This new type of consumer is subject to an increasing amount of research by social and economic scientists, and characterized as ‘sophisticated’ and ‘environmentally and socially conscious’ (Forster, 2007).

One business area where environmental issues have received a great deal of discussion I the popular and professional press is marketing. Terms like Green Marketing and Environmental Marketing appear frequently in the popular press. Many governments around the world have become so concerned about green marketing activities that they have attempted to regulate them(Polonsky 1994a) .For example united States(US) the Federal Trade Commission and the National Association of Attorneys-General have developed extensive documents examining green marketing issues(FTC 1991,NAAG 1990)one of the biggest problem with the green marketing area is that there has been little attempt to academically examine environmental or green marketing.

Pride and Ferrell (1993) Green marketing, also alternatively known as environmental marketing and sustainable marketing, refers to an organization 's efforts at designing, promoting, pricing and distributing products that will not harm the environment.