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GREEN CONSUMERISM BEHAVIOR AND ETHICS IN GREEN MARKETING

Dr K.S.S.UDUMAN MOHIDEEN, Former Professor and Head,
Department of Economics, University of Madras,
Chennai-600005

We say we love flowers, yet we pluck them. We say we love trees, yet we cut them down. And
people still wonder why some are afraid when told they are loved
Author Unknown
Meaning & Concept of Green Marketing
The colour green is an off shoot of the English verb growanwhich means to grow. Green has
traditionally been associated with hope and growth and it also represents nature. Over a period of
time, the colour has virtually become a synonym for environment. As resources are limited and
human wants are unlimited, it is important for the marketers to utilize the resources efficiently
without waste as well as to achieve the organization's objective. So green marketing is inevitable.
Green marketing was given prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s after the proceedings of the
first workshop on Ecological marketing held in Austin, Texas (US), in 1975. Several books on
green marketing began to be published thereafter. According to the Joel makeover (a writer,
speaker and strategist on clean technology and green marketing), green marketing faces a lot of
challenges because of lack of standards and public consensus to what constitutes "Green". The
green marketing has evolved over a period of time. According to Peattie (2001), the evolution of
green marketing has three phases. First phase was termed as "Ecological" green marketing, and
during this period all marketing activities were concerned to help environment problems and
provide remedies for environmental problems. Second phase was "Environmental" green
marketing and the focus shifted on clean technology that involved designing of innovative new
products, which take care of pollution and waste issues. Third phase was "Sustainable" Green
Marketing. It came into prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000.
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With the continuing rise in environmental awareness and concern, companies recognize that it
pays to be green. If the companies are acting in an environmentally responsible way, it is
important for companies to communicate their green credentials.
Green Consumer
A green consumer is one Who is mindful of environment related issues and obligations, and is
supportive of environmental causes to the extent of switching allegiance from one product or supplier to
another even if it entails higher cost.

According to Jacquelyn Ottman of J. Ottman Consulting, green consumers seek out the following
when making purchase decisions:

Green consumers want to know how raw materials are procured and where they come

from, how food is grown, and what their potential impact is on the environment once they land in
the trash bin.

Green consumers patronize manufacturers and retailers they trust and boycott the wares

of suspected polluters.

Green consumers often do not have the same consumptive spending patterns as the mass

consumer.
Green Consumerism
Green Consumerism is based on public awareness of pressing environmental issues. Green
marketers hope to capitalize on this by developing strategies that allow consumers to integrate
green products into their lifestyles. Many such efforts by green marketers have met with
considerable success. The "organic" industry, for example, which specializes in the sale of
organically, based foods, health and nutritional products, and other green lifestyle items.

Green Consumer Purchasing Behavior

Consumer behavior can be defined as, Study of how people or organization behave when
obtaining, using, and disposing of products and services.
Green Consumer behavior involves the use and disposal of products as well as the study of how
they are purchased. This means understanding the consumers behavior as a process in
purchasing goods and services. Product use is often of great interest to the marketer, because this
may influence how a product is best positioned or how we can encourage increased green
consumption.
Need & Significance of Green Marketing
As resources are limited and human wants are unlimited, it is important for the marketers to
utilize the resources efficiently without waste as well as to achieve the organization's objective.
So green marketing is inevitable.
There is a growing interest among the consumers all over the world regarding the protection of
environment. Worldwide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are
changing their behavior. As a result of this, green marketing has emerged which speaks for
growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services.
Thus the growing awareness among the consumers all over the world regarding protection of the
environment in which they live, People do want to bequeath a clean earth to their offspring.
Various studies by environmentalists indicate that people are concerned about the environment
and are changing their behavior pattern so as to be less hostile towards it. Now we see that most
of the consumers, both individual and industrial, are becoming more concerned about
environment-friendly products. Most of them feel that environment-friendly products are safe to
use. As a result, green marketing has emerged, which aims at marketing sustainable and socially-

responsible products and services. Now is the era of recyclable, non-toxic and environmentfriendly goods. This has become the new mantra for marketers to satisfy the needs of consumers
and earn better profits.
Green marketing is the process of developing products and services and promoting them to
satisfy the customers who prefer products of good quality, performance and convenience at
affordable cost, which at the same time do not have a detrimental impact on the environment. It
includes a broad range of activities like product modification, changing the production process,
modified advertising, change in packaging, etc., aimed at reducing the detrimental impact of
products and their consumption and disposal on the environment. Companies all over the world
are striving to reduce the impact of products and services on the climate and other environmental
parameters. Marketers are taking the cue and are going green.
Determinants of Green Marketing

Setting Green Objectives

Demonstrate Social Responsibility

Comply with the legislation

Respond to competitive initiatives

Provide accurate environmental information

Identify products with green characteristics

Focus product development on sustainability

Set realistic prices

Eliminate unnecessary packaging

Practice greener distribution

Promote green credentials efficiently

Make it easy for customers to be green

Corporate Green Objectives

They believe green marketing is an opportunity that can be used to meet their corporate

objectives.

They believe they have a moral obligation to be more socially responsible.

Government regulations are forcing them to become more environmentally responsible.

Competitorsenvironmental activities are pressuring them to change their marketing

activities.

Cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage are forcing

them to modify their behavior.

Demonstrate Social Responsibility
Many companies realize that they are part of the wider community and must behave in an
environmentally responsible way. They set themselves environmental objectives as well as
corporate and profit objectives. In some cases, concern for environmental issues has become
integrated into the companys culturea fact which is recognized by customers and other
influencers. Companies who manufacture products can make a further contribution to
environmental improvements by encouraging their suppliers to behave in a more
environmentally-responsible way.
Comply with Legislation
Apart from proactively embracing green marketing, it is also essential to comply with
environmental legislation. Governments try to protect consumers and society by minimizing the
impact of business on the environment. For example, they try to reduce production of harmful
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goods, modify consumer and industrys use of harmful goods, and ensure that businesses provide
accurate information on the environmental aspects of their activities.
Respond to Competitive Initiatives
In some market sectors, companies who have undertaken green initiatives have increased market
share as a result. Competitors, recognizing the value of the green factor, may introduce their
own versions. A good example is the cosmetics industry in which organizations like The Body
Shop successfully pioneered an ethical approach that was later followed by the majority of their
competitors. In cases like this, the actions of one company have caused an entire industry to
modify its environmental behavior.
Provide Accurate Environmental Information
We intend to practice green marketing, it is essential that our activities and our communications
do not mislead consumers or industry, and do not breach any of the regulations or laws dealing
with environmental marketing. Any green marketing claims should:

clearly state environmental benefits;

explain environmental characteristics;

explain how benefits are achieved;

justify any environmental claims;

use meaningful terms and pictures.

Identify Products with Green Characteristics

There are wide varieties of products that support sustainable development and demonstrate
commitment to green marketing, including:

products made from recycled goods;

products that can be recycled or reused;

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energy-efficient products that save water, energy, or fuel and reduce environmental

impact;

products with environmentally responsible packaging;

organic products;

services that rent or loan products-such as car sharing;

products that meet or exceed environmentally responsible criteria.

Whatever the product or service, it is vital to ensure that products meet or exceed the quality
expectations of customers and are thoroughly tested.
Focus Product Development on Sustainability
Any new product development program should take into account environmental issues. The
objective should be to develop products that can be produced, distributed, used, and recycled
with minimal environmental impact. Product development should focus on these issues:

How will the product be produced? You need to consider the materials, energy, and labor

used to produce the product to assess whether the production process has any detrimental social
or environmental impact.

How will the product be used? You need to consider whether the product can be used for

any unethical purpose. You also need to consider the resources the product will consume during
its lifetime, balancing performance requirements against sustainability.

How long will the product last? Here you need to balance your need for future product

sales or upgrades against concerns about built-in obsolescence. You also need to consider how
customers can dispose of the product at the end of its life.

Set Realistic Prices

Pricing is as critical in green marketing as in conventional marketing. Concerns about the
overpricing of organic foods, for example, has made consumers skeptical about certain green
claims. Most customers will only be prepared to pay a premium if they perceive additional value
such as improved performance, function, design, visual appeal, or taste. Environmental benefits
alone may not be a justification for higher prices. However, there is a case for communicating
the potential hidden savings in green products. Environmentally responsible products may be
comparatively less expensive when whole life costs are taken into consideration. Examples
include fuel-efficient vehicles, water-efficient printing and no hazardous products.
Eliminate Unnecessary Packaging
Packaging has become an environmental issue for marketing for a number of reasons:

Packaging is a major component of domestic waste and therefore an important

contribution to landfill.

Discarded packaging is very visible as litter.

Packaging reduction initiatives can reduce the environmental impact of a product while

also saving companies money.

Retailers also play a role in reducing packaging waste by encouraging suppliers to minimize
excess packaging or offering customers shopping bags for life to reduce the volume of plastic
bags.
Practice Greener Distribution
Distribution is a key issue in attracting the right customers for green products and behaving in an
environmentally responsible way. Experience indicates that customers will not go out of their
way to buy green products just for the sake of it; where possible, products should be distributed

through mainstream outlets so that they are not just available to a small niche market of green
consumers. If you market your products across geographical boundaries, distribution becomes an
environmentally sensitive issue. Look carefully at the physical distribution of your products to
find where you could minimize the impact on the environment of your logistics operations. This
might mean reducing the number of miles driven by keeping more regional inventory or by using
fuel-efficient vehicles for distribution.
Promote Green Credentials Efficiently
The key to successful green marketing communications is credibility. Never overstate
environmental claims or establish unrealistic expectations, and communicate simply through
sources that people trust. Larger corporations may run major advertising and public relations
campaigns to promote their commitment to environmental improvement, but promotion on this
scale is not essential. Green marketers reinforce their environmental credibility by using
sustainable marketing and communications tools and practices. Examples include:

providing electronic statements or billing by e-mail;

using e-marketing rather than paper-based direct mail;

offering downloadable publications to reduce print quantities and paper usage;

printing on recycled materials using processes such as waterless printing;

eliminating unnecessary packaging;

offering Webcasting as an alternative to live events to reduce representatives travel.

Make It Easy for Customers to Be Green

Experience indicates that consumers and business customers are increasingly concerned about
the environment and are changing their purchasing behavior. That means there is a growing
market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. The challenge for green
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marketing is to make it easy for customers to become green themselves. Commentators believe
that when other factors such as quality, price, performance, and availability are equal,
environmental considerations may tip the balance in favor of a green product.
The extensive use of pollutants in factories, farms, and power plants is an indication of how the
planet works. They are primitive inventions that have been designed by people who didnt fully
grasp the consequences of their actions. But as comprehension has grown, a market has emerged
for more sensible alternatives. As global warming becomes a real threat, it is time to upgrade
technology to tackle the issue in various streams of Agriculture, Automobiles, Batteries,
Electricity, FMCG goods, Electronics etc. Among all these streams one such field is the
agriculture where it is highly essential to focus in increasing the productivity by safeguarding the
environment. As a result, green marketing has emerged, which aims at marketing sustainable and
socially-responsible products and services. Now is the era of recyclable, non-toxic and
environment-friendly goods. This has become the new mantra for marketers to satisfy the needs
of consumers and earn better profits.
ETHICS IN GREEN MARKETING
Friedman says that business has no social responsibility beyond that of increasing profits so long
as it stays within the rules of the game, that is, engage in open and free competition without
deception or fraud. In other words, business has no business to consider question of good or evil,
stillness of social justice or environmental sustainability. This raises the question of whether
there is a distinction to be drawn between ethical action and good business sense. Green
marketing may be viewed as a strategy for the future or for profitability. Decision-making in
business has become complex as environmental questions have been raised about all aspects of

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corporate activity. Since business is in the community and works within a physical and ethical
framework, it has to consider the environment as an ethical issue.
The rate of environmental degradation has intensified. The nineteenth century witnessed the
firms large scale pollution as companies geared themselves to produce goods as fast as possible,
with virtual disregard to human or environmental well-being. Nations battled for industrial
supremacy using raw materials and creating pollution at a staggering rate. As countries became
economically stronger, competition also grew. More efficient production methods were
employed, and very few companies, gave a thought to the impact they were having on their
surroundings. With increase in water pollution from chemical works, and air pollution from the
iron and steel industry, towns and cities began to pay the price for high industrial productivity.
The three Rs of environmentalism are:
1. Reduce
2. Reuse and
3. Recycle
Green marketing takes into account the wider relationship of the organization and its products to
the surroundings. It is about a more aware, open, targeted and sensitive approach that integrates
the strategic link between the company, the environment and marketing, rather than being
primarily concerned with tactical communication opportunities. The prime emphasis is on,
developing relationships and satisfying separate stakeholder needs in an environmentally and
socially responsible manner. The key stakeholders are customers, investors, the parent company,
directors, employees, the community, legislators, pressure groups, supplier, and the media.

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Green marketing differs from its societal and ecological predecessors by intertwining of
ecological and social concerns, in the breadth of the ecological agenda that it tackles, and in its
potential application across all types and sectors of business. Green marketing goes beyond
societal marketing in four key ways:
It is an open-ended rather than a long-term perspective
It focuses more strongly on natural environment
It treats the empowerment as something which has an intrinsic value over and above its
usefulness to society
It focuses on global concerns rather than those of particular societies
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