Theoritical Approach: The Impact off New Environmentalism and Green Marketing On Maximize Bothe the Producers and the Consumers Life Quality

Abstract

On Earth Day 1970, a newly emerging environmentalism
movement made its first large—scale effort to educate people
about the dangers of pollution. This was a tough task: At the
time, most folks weren’t all that interested in environmental
problems. These days, however, environmentalism has broad
public support. People hear and read daily about a growing list
of environmental Problems-global warming, acid rain,
depletion of the ozone layer, air and water pollution,
hazardous waste disposal, the buildup of solid wastes and they
are calling for solutions.
The new environmentalism has caused many consumers to
rethink what products they buy and from whom. According to
one recent study, nearly half of all Americans say they would
change product brands to support environmental friendliness.
“People are changing their brand loyalties based on things like
a company’s reputation for helping or harming the
environment,†comments an environmental researcher. For
example, when the Massachusetts utility market recently was
opened to competition, over 25 percent of customers chose to
pay more by signing up with a utility employing “greenâ€
sources such as Wind, geothermal, and solar power. Such
consumer attitudes have sparked a major marketing thrust—
green marketing--the movement by companies to develop and
market environmentally responsible products. Committed
green companies pursue not only environmental cleanup but
also pollution prevention. True green work requires companies
to practice the three Rs of waste management: reducing,
reusing, and recycling waste.
McDonald’s provides a good example of green marketing. It
used to purchase Coca-Cola syrup in plastic bags encased in
cardboard, but now the syrup is delivered as gasoline is,
pumped directly from tank trucks into storage vats at
restaurants. The change saved 68 million pounds of packaging
a year. All napkins, bags, and tray liners in McDonald’s
restaurants are made from recycled paper, as are its carry out
drink trays and even. the stationery used at headquarters. For a
company the size of McDonald’s, even small changes can
make a big difference. For example, just making its drinking
straws 20 percent lighter saved the company 1 million pounds
of waste per year. Beyond turning its own products green,
McDonald’s purchases recycled materials for building and
remodeling its restaurants, and it challenges its suppliers to
furnish and use recycled products.
Producers in a wide range of industries are responding to
environmental concerns. For example, 3M runs a Pollution
Prevention Pays program, which has led to substantial
pollution and cost reduction. Xerox now remanufactures its
copy machines and markets them as “proven workhorses"
under names such as “Eco-series," “Renaissance,†and “Green
Line.†Herman Miller, the large office—furniture
manufacturer, set a trend in the furniture industry when it
began using tropical woods from sustainably managed
sources, altering even its classic furniture lines. But it went
even further by reusing packaging, recapturing solvents used
in staining, and burning fabric scraps and sawdust to generate
energy for its manufacturing plant. These moves not only help
the environment, they also save Herman Miller $750,000 per
year on energy and landfill costs.
Service providers are going green, too. Studies indicate that
85 percent of travelers are willing to pay as much as 8 percent
more to stay in an environmentally friendly hotel. Sheraton
Hotels recently opened its first environmentally smart hotel in
the United States. At a cost of $14 million, it built the
Sheraton Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia using only
materials and fabrics that are produced without toxic bleaches
or dyes. All of the hotel's furniture is made of wood harvested
from managed forests and all of the carpets, draperies, paint,
and wallpaper are free of toxic chemicals. The entire hotel is
designated nonsmoking and a ventilation system ensures that
fresh air is circulated into all rooms at all times. A six—story central atrium houses bamboo trees, which grow at a rate of
one meter each day and produce oxygen at a rate 35 percent
higher than most other plants. The walls of the atrium are
fashioned from Wall Street Journal rejects and soybeans,
while the floor is made from engineered bamboo.
Even retailers are jumping onto the green bandwagon. For
example, Grow Biz International has developed a $100
million business selling used equipment through retail chains
such as Play It Again, Once upon a Child, Computer
Renaissance, Music Go Round, and Disk Go Round. Wal—
Mart is pressuring its 7,000 suppliers to provide it with more
recycled products. In its stores, Wal—Mart runs Videos to
help educate customers, and the retailer has set up more than
900 recycling drop—off bins in store parking lots around the
nation. It’s even opening "ecofriendly†stores. In these stores,
the air—conditioning systems use non-ozone-depleting
refrigerant, rainwater is collected from parking lots and
rooftops for landscaping, skylights supplement fluorescent
lighting adjusted by photo sensors, and the road sign is solar
powered.
During the early phase of the new environmentalism,
promoting environmentally improved products and actions
ballooned into a big business. In fact, environmentalists and
regulators became concerned that companies were going
overboard with their use of terms like recyclable, degradable,
compostable, and environmentally responsible. Perhaps of
equal concern was that, as more and more marketers used
green marketing claims, more and more consumers would
view them as little more than gimmicks. In 1992, as a result of
such concerns, the Federal Trade Commission issued a set of
voluntary guidelines for green marketing terms to help guide
marketers making environmental claims for their products.
Revisions of the guidelines were finalized in 1998.
As we move into the twenty—first century
environmentalism appears to be moving into a more mature
phase. Gone are the hastily prepared environmental pitches
and products designed to capitalize on or exploit growing
public concern. The new environmentalism is now going
mainstream-broader, deeper, and more sophisticated. In the
words of one analyst:
Dressing up ads with pictures of eagles and trees will no
longer woo an environmentally sophisticated audience. People
want to know that companies are incorporating environmental
values into their manufacturing processes, products,
packaging, and the very fabric of their corporate cultures.
They . . . want to know that companies will not compromise
the ability of future generations to enjoy the quality of life that
we enjoy today. . . .As a result, we’re seeing the marriage of
performance benefits and environmental benefits . . . one
reinforces the other.
In all, some companies have responded to consumer
environmental concerns by doing only what is required to
avert new regulations or to keep environmentalists quiet.
Others have rushed to make money by catering to the public’s
mounting concern for the environment. But enlightened
companies are taking action not because someone is forcing
them to, or to reap short—run profits, but because it is the
right thing to do. They believe that environmental
farsightedness today will pay off tomorrow—for both the
customer and the company.