What Is Green Marketing?

If you’re looking to learn all about green marketing, you’re in the right place. Learn all about it, right here.

Green marketing. It’s a form of marketing that swept the world within the last decade or so. Why? Because we’re at a point of global significance, where there’s a real need to go green – but why has that branched over into marketing? The goal of every business is to meet the needs of their consumers, which means that more and more brands and businesses are looking into green marketing and branding in order to appeal to a wider audience.

So, if you’re reading this post still, you’re probably looking to learn a bit more about green marketing and why every leading marketing and digital marketing agency puts a strong emphasis on getting their clients to ‘go green’. We’re going to tell you all you need to know about green marketing, show you examples of how other brands have done it. Are you ready to learn what green marketing is?

What is it?

Green marketing is fairly basic to understand. It’s the process of marketing a brand or business as green. Whilst it takes different forms for different kinds of businesses, pretty much every company can go green – unless you’re a tree-destroying one…

Through the right marketing, companies with a product can put an emphasized focus on the green benefits of their products. This can include creating products that aren’t single use or don’t have excess packaging (meaning more waste), or even products that can be recycled properly. Whatever the green benefits of your product are, green marketing puts a specific focus on that.

If you’re a service, as opposed to selling a product, there are still things that can be done to marketing your business as green. Taxi or car service companies may find that they’re using hybrid or electric cars as part of a mission to reduce their carbon footprint – making sure consumers know that fact is a form of green marketing. Done correctly, green marketing can help you win over a whole new pool of customers and do a little good for the planet too. But these aren’t the only reasons to go green with your marketing.

Why Green Marketing?

Green marketing isn’t new, but the benefits of it can be seen throughout the history of it. Yes, even back in 2014, a study found that over 55% of people would happily pay more for a product that was eco-friendly. So, if you’re thinking that going green is going to be more expensive, consumers are happy to pay a little bit extra. You’ll see an increase in business, due to the fact more people would rather use eco-friendly products as opposed to the harmful alternatives. An increase in sales and reducing your company’s impact on the environment? Sounds like a win-win…

But marketing your business as green goes beyond just making sure your products are going to be eco-friendly. Let’s look at how some of the most successful companies are marketing themselves as green.

Green Businesses

Taking strides in the world of going green, these leading brands have been doing it for years – and one’s philosophy has always been eco-friendly since the company began!

• Adidas

Back in 2017, the sports brand, Adidas, released a collaboration with Parley for the Oceans. It’s a running shoe, made solely from recycled plastic bottles that were in the ocean. The product was marketed in a way that emphasized the way they’re made. The product is sustainable, as it’s made purely from recyclable material and sourced from waste plastic.

• Apple

A tech giant like Apple may not strike everyone as a ‘green’ company, but a lot of the work they do is done with being green in mind. There’s the Apple Giveback scheme, which allows you to recycle your old phones for some in-store credit. Apple then recycles the parts for future models and continue the recycling process. Apple also made a hefty investment back in 2015 to a clean energy company, First Solar. They use solar-powered tech to power all their American based stores and offices.

• Lush Cosmetics

Lush is a company founded on green principles. Their products and packaging are all environmentally friendly and conscious. Lush’s whole ethos is about being green and making products that are sustainable and not harmful to the environment. Lush also use a recycling scheme not dissimilar to Apple – the exchange of old goods for money off.

Green marketing is really all about what you do and how you let your consumer base know what you’re doing. It’s about doing what right for the environment, but making sure people are aware that your products are eco-friendly and sustainable. Green marketing can work for any business, as long as they’re willing to take the necessary steps. Even if you’re a service as opposed to a product, there’s still a way to make sure your business is green.

About The Author:

Hugh Sallows is a Content Marketing Executive, at Revive. Digital. He specializes in writing and has an extensive history of both SEO and blog work behind him.