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 productCharacteristics of green product:

• Endanger the health of people or animals

• Damage the environment at any stage of its life, including manufacture, use, and disposal

• 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 "eco-labeling."

• 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: Loss of 'childhood' due to societal pressures and expectations, knowledge and skills, etc.

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