Gaining competitive through green marketing

The concept of green marketing has undergone tremendous changes as a business strategy since its first appearance in the 1980’s. Business firms have realized the importance of green marketing as a means of gaining competitive advantage over rivals in the industry. Business strategy of a business is devised in response to the changing needs in the market and Green marketing has received a tremendous boost with the revival of environmental consciousness among consumers. Environmental sustainability is not simply a matter of compliance or risk management. Business is increasingly recognizing the many competitive advantages and business opportunities to be gained from eco-sustainability and green marketing. World-wide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior accordingly. As a result there is a growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. Green marketing is one of the newly-emerged and extensive concepts in marketing, which encompasses all marketing activities that are done to motivate and strengthen favorable environmental attitudes and behaviors. Green marketing involves developing and promoting products and services that satisfy your customers wants and needs for quality, performance, affordable pricing and convenience without having a detrimental impact on the environment. The paper analyses whether the manufacturers are cognizant about green products and eco-labeling, and also the difficulties in implementing green marketing. A guideline is given to the manufacturers for producing green marketing products for gaining competitive advantage