GREEN

CONSUMERISM
GROUP MEMBERS:
Ajinkya Sawant
Divya Mankar
Prathmesh Chavan
Abhishek Ghadigaonkar
Saylee Patil
Mahesh Jagdale

GREEN CONSUMERISM: MEANING

Green consumerism refers to recycling, purchasing and using eco-friendly products that minimize damage to the
environment.

This involves decisions such as using Energy Start appliances that consume less power, buying hybrid cars that emit less
carbon dioxide, using solar and wind power to generate electricity and buying locally grown vegetables and fruits.

More and more businesses and industries are joining in the green movement, either out of a real interest in saving the
planet or a desire to capitalize on the growing consumer demand for greener ways.

For example, Wal-Mart anticipates savings to the tune of billions of dollars by reducing packaging across the supply chain
and Wells Fargo issues carbon credits to offset its customers' credit card purchases.

THE GREEN CONSUMER:

Without getting technical, a green consumer is someone who is very concerned about the environment
and, therefore, only purchases products that are environmentally-friendly or eco-friendly.

Products with little or no packaging, products made from natural ingredients and products that are made
without causing pollution are all examples of eco-friendly products.

The green consumer would be the type to drive a hybrid vehicle, buy products made with hemp or those
made from recycled materials.

OBJECTIVES:
1.

To know the characteristics of Green Product.

2.

To enhance the steps towards green promotion.

3.

To know the impact of Green Consumerism

4.

To observe the necessity of green consumerism in various aspects.

5.

To evaluate the reaction towards Green Consumerism.

Green product
Characteristics of green product:

Endanger the health of people or animals

Damage the environment at any stage of its life,

manufacture, use, and disposal

including

Consume a disproportionate amount of energy and other

resources during manufacture, use, or disposal

Cause unnecessary waste, either as a result of excessive

packaging or a short useful life

Involve the unnecessary use of or cruelty to animal

Use materials derived from threatened species or environments

LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS

Life

cycle analysis (LCA)

Product

line analysis (PLA)

Cumulative

environmental impact:-

Green Promotion

Perhaps no area of green marketing has received as much attention as promotion. In fact, green advertising
claims grew so rapidly during the late 1980s that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued guidelines to help
reduce consumer confusion and prevent the false or misleading use of terms such as "recyclable," "degradable,"
and "environmentally friendly" in environmental advertising. Since that time, the FTC has continues to offer
general guidelines for companies wishing to make environmental claims as part of their promotional efforts:

Qualifications and disclosures should be sufficiently clear and prominent to prevent deception.

Environmental claims should make clear whether they apply to the product, the package, or a component of
either. Claims need to be qualified with regard to minor, incidental components of the product or package.

Environmental claims should not overstate the environmental attribute or benefit. Marketers should avoid
implying a significant environmental benefit where the benefit is, in fact, negligible.

A claim comparing the environmental attributes of one product with those of another product should make the
basis for the comparison sufficiently clear and should be substantiated.

The FTC regulations apply to all aspects and forms of marketing, including labeling, advertising, and
promotional materials. "When a business makes any environmental claim, it must be able to support that claim
with reliable scientific evidence," summarized Shi and Kane. "A corporation trumpeting an environmental benefit
that it is unable to substantiate is treading on thin ice and leaving itself open to substantial penalties if a legal
suit is brought against the company."

In addition to delineating marketing claims that might be regarded as false or misleading, the FTC also provides
guidance to businesses on how to make specific claims about environmentally-friendly aspects of their
operation, in part by clarifying the definitions of such commonly used terms as "recyclable," "biodegradable," and
"compostable."

These guidelines were issued (and remain in force) not only to curb businesses engaged in misleading
advertising practices, but also to clarify the regulatory environment for companies. Various entities, from states
and cities to industry groups and standards-setting organizations, had developed their own definitions in the
years prior to the publication of the FTC report precisely because of the dearth of federal guidelines.

"As a consequence," said the Encyclopedia of the Environment, "marketers faced a patchwork and sometimes
costly marketplace where relabeling, legal actions, and negative publicity can create additional costs, can cause
market share losses, and may deter some from making credible claims altogether."

Eco-Sponsoring

One avenue commonly used by companies to promote their specific ecological concerns (or
polish their overall reputations as good corporate citizens) is to affiliate themselves with
groups or projects engaged in environmental improvements.

In eco-sponsoring's simplest form, firms contribute funds directly to an environmental

organization to further the organization's objectives.

Another approach is to "adopt" a particular environmental cause (community recycling

programs are popular), thus demonstrating the company's interest in supporting
environmental protection efforts.

Sponsorships of educational programs, wildlife refuges, and park or nature area clean-up
efforts also communicate concern for environmental issues.

Environmental organizations charge, however, that some businesses use eco-sponsorships to

hide fundamentally rapacious attitudes toward the environment

Eco-Labeling:
Vehicle

that has been used with increasing frequency in recent

years to convey environmental information to consumers is "ecolabeling."

Eco

labeling programs are typically voluntary, third-party expert

assessments of the environmental impacts of products.

By performing a thorough evaluation of a product, but awarding

only a simple logo on packages, Eco labels offer consumers clear
guidance based on expert information.

Eco-labeling

programs increase awareness of environmental

issues, set high standards for firms to work towards, and help
reduce consumer uncertainty regarding a product's environmental
benefits.

Main impacts of Green Products:

Businesses

have looked into the green process - generating

corporate environmental profiles, monitoring and evaluating green
performance, and improving corporate image as a result.

Green

products have also increased competition among businesses

to generate more environmentally friendly products.

Ecolabelling

networks that monitor and evaluate green products

have been developed in many countries. These networks have
done life cycle analyses to understand the impact of products.

Governments

have also taken several measures that have

supported and facilitated such moves by businesses.

Necessity of Green Consumerism in various aspects:

Health:

A sentary lifestyle combined with health impacts of environmental pollution and

emissions, use and abuse of pesticides, anti-biotics etc.

Population

and consumption: Population increases, aging populations, consumption

patterns - living beyond means, etc.

Globalization:

Transboundary effect and free trade have both advantages (efficiency,

profits, opportunities, demand) and disadvantages (unemployment, footloose companies,
weaker controls, unfair trade, small scale loses out) etc.

Energy:

Every source of energy has an environmental impact. Energy efficiency is not

just technology, but also cutting back. There are enough cars to create a six-lane traffic
jam to the moon.

Water:

Water use is increasing at twice the rate of population increase. Much can be
done at the individual level.

Chemicals:

Use of pesticides and other hazardous chemicals. PCB?DDT has been found
in mother's milk too! Ozone depleting chemicals, hormone-disrupting chemicals have
long term effects on human health and well-being.

Contd...
Genetic

engineering: Includes many ethical and moral issues, including misinformation.

Not that genetic engineering is bad - but the consumer should be given the choice.

Natural

World: Considerable pressures put on the natural world due to population

increases and rise in consumption. 40% of all plant growth consumed by humans!
Somewhere, something should stop.

Ethics:

The treatment of other peoples. Issues of gender, children, animal welfare. Ethics
of cloning, fertility et al.

Fair

Trade: Nee to look into working conditions (child labour, low wages, long hours, lack
of safety, mass production v/s craft industries.

Neighbourhoods:

Development of a sense of community. Increase in financial wealth, but

also of quality of life. Measure "gross national happiness"!!

Childhood:

skills, etc.

Loss of 'childhood' due to societal pressures and expectations, knowledge and

Reactions to "green

Consumerism
A

number of factors have caused business firms in some industries

to incorporate an environmental ethic into their operations.

Businesses

took heed of this growth in "green consumerism," and

new marketing campaigns were devised to reflect this new strain
of thought among consumers

Ironically,

studies have shown that the most environmentally

aware consumers are also the ones most likely to view green
claims of companies with skepticism.

Environmental

or green marketing differs from other forms of

advertising in some fairly fundamental ways. The Encyclopedia of
the Environment summarized the most striking differences
effectively:

Contd
"First,

unlike, price, quality, and other features, the environmental

impacts of a product are not always apparent and may not affect
the purchaser directly. Thus environmental claims are often more
abstract and offer consumers the opportunity to act on their
environmental concerns.

Second,

unlike most advertised product attributes, environmental

claims may apply to the full product life cycle, from raw material
extraction to ultimate product disposal, reuse, or recycling.

Third,

and most important, environmental marketing provides an

incentive for manufacturers to achieve significant environmental
improvements, such as toxics use reduction and recycling, by
competing on the basis of minimizing environmental impacts of
their products."

Conclusion:
Lifestyle

is measured by consumption styles and green

commitment by certain environment-related consumption choices.

The

results suggest that different lifestyles explain green

commitment better than traditional socio-economic background
variables.

The

concept of the green consumer is over-simplified and fails to

capture the actual complexity of consumer values, attitudes and
behavior

Indeed,

marketing campaigns touting the environmental ethics of

companies and the environmental advantages of their products
have proliferated in recent years.

THANK YOU