Is Green Marketing over... Part 2

Reading an article about the book from Devinney, Auger and Eckhardt, “The Myth of the Ethical Consumer” (Cambridge University Press, 2010), I saw some more arguments confirming the “Is Green Marketing over” point of view. These arguments are not against professionals and specialist in this area, but against a too restrictive definition of marketing.

The book addresses the issue of ethical consumption, largely equivalent to that advocated by green consumption, where the authors demonstrate, through research, that a gap exists between what consumers say and what they do, dismantling the myth of the ethical consumer.

One of the most important conclusions of the research, in my opinion, is that most people would not sacrifice the function of a product by ethics. Under normal circumstances the moral merits never exceed the costs, ie costs are more interesting. Even a factor as the color of a pair of shoes is more important to most of the conditions under which it was manufactured. There is already a social conscience and ethics in terms of consumption, but most people do not care enough to pay more for it. Yet it appears that this type of consumption has the potential to become a mass phenomenon.

It follows that to ethical consumption be effective, it’s necessary for the consumer to become a conscious participant and not just a label reader. It is also necessary for companies to help their customers (present and future) to become more socially conscious in their purchases. And that requires that more tangible and reliable information be provided on the benefits of their products and services in a context of multiple choices in the market.

These findings are in line with several current trends, within the theme of sustainability, sustainability reporting or even integrated reporting, taking us further from a green marketing and getting closer to a more sustainable marketing, or better said closer to sustainable marketing.

The Obvious Revolution