SUSTAINABLE MARKETING AND GREENWASHING CHALLENGES

Abstract

Sustainable marketing is the practice of promoting products, services and brand values, that are environmentally friendly, socially responsible and economically viable over the long term. In order to be truly sustainable, a brand has to look beyond just “selling more stuff”. It focuses on a “triple Bottom Line: Planet (environmental) – minimizing the carbon footprint, using recyclable packaging and reducing waste; People (Social) – ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions and supporting the communities where the business operates. Profit (Economic) – creating a business model that stays profitable without exploiting resources or people so it can survive for a long time.

Nowadays it is very important, because modern shoppers are actively voting with their wallets. They want to buy form brands that comes in accordance with their values. Also, companies, that ignore sustainability face “cancel culture”, legal regulations and resource scarcity. The last one is the “Greenwashing” trap – authentic sustainable marketing is the antidote to greenwashing – when a company spends more time claiming to be green than actually being green. Companies are using words that sound official but have zero legal definition. If you see these terms without a specific certification logo, they are often vibes – like Fair Trade or USDA Organic, All-natural, Eco-Friendly, Green and etc. One more greenwashing method is – the color psychology – when brands suddenly switch their packaging like sage green or clay brown. Different studies show that consumers subconsciously associate the color green and imagery of leaves or water with sustainability, even if the product inside is 100% synthetic. Another form of greenwashing is the “Hidden Trade-Off” – which is the most common form of the greenwashing. In this case company highlights one tiny “green” attribute and ignores a massive environmental problem and many other greenwashing tricks (Mamuladze 2019).