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The research explores consumers’ perceptions of the business motivations behind a new type of sustainable business strategy – green demarketing. Green demarketing refers to a strategy whereby a brand encourages consumers to buy less at the category level through purchase of the company’s brand for the sake of the environment. Two studies show that...
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Context 1
... mentioned in Introduction, some brands have already begun implementing a green demarketing strategy. For example, outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia created a print advertisement for one of its garments with large print reading 'DON'T BUY THIS JACKET' (see Figure 1) imposed over it, explaining that consuming less permits a world in which nature can replace that which we consume. Further, Patagonia's website (2014) copy urges us to 'consume less, and far more slowly'. ...
Context 2
... respondents reported how important they felt environmental protection is to the average American in purchase decisions on a seven-point Likert scale. This item was intended as a proxy measure for the respondent's personal importance that controls for social desirability bias (Luchs et al., 2010). Finally, as attention checks to control for data quality, respondents were asked to recall whether Zevo had a long or short length of commitment to making sustainable products and a poor or excellent record of environmental protection. ...
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Citations
... Some of the underlying ideas of strong sustainability, such as moderating and reducing consumption through marketing, are not exactly new in marketing research and practice. Fisk (1973) was one of the first marketing scholars to discuss the need to limit consumption, followed by several studies that investigated social marketing for consumption reduction (e.g., Lahtinen et al., 2020;Peattie & Peattie, 2009), green demarketing (e.g., Armstrong Soule & Reich, 2015;Reich & Armstrong Soule, 2016; and sufficiency-promoting marketing (e.g., , as well as regenerative business practice, which is about doing more net good rather than less bad (Konietzko et al., 2023;Polman & Winston, 2021). ...
... The role of marketing was also discussed by several of the papers. There were two different roles presented: on the one hand, the role of marketing as "traditionally focused on creating demand for a product and service" (Armstrong Soule & Reich, 2015, p. 1404). On the other hand, articles also described the potential role that marketing could play to promote strong sustainability, for instance stating that "the marketing discipline is in an immediate position to initiate change as it has the means to bring about radical transformations in consumption patterns" (Kelleci & Yildiz, 2021, p. 11). ...
... • Involuntary consumption reduction (e.g., through poverty) leads to reduced wellbeing Marketing in the Anthropocene Negative consumer perception • Consumer perception that business and marketing are to blame for overconsumption (rather than consumers) (Pereira Heath & Chatzidakis, 2012) • Perception of untrustworthiness and greenwashing; this is often linked to the reputation of the sender (Armstrong Soule & Reich, 2015) • Concerns about product quality of "green" products Both • Perception of poor labour and social practices Mainstream marketing Sustainable consumption as a distraction • Focusing on the production and consumption of sustainable or "greener" products and services can distract from the need to reduce overconsumption volumes (Ardley & May, 2020) Mainstream marketing ...
Marketing is an important function and practice in everyday business. It involves getting potential customers interested in a product or service through value-oriented arguments. In this way, marketing plays a pivotal role in driving the consumption of goods and services. Given the increasing consumption of goods and services, decreasing product lifetimes, and increasing levels of waste in all product categories, it is evident that the practice and theory of marketing needs a radical rethink in light of pressing resource and climate issues. The impact of unsustainable production and consumption patterns has led to this era being referred to as the Anthropocene, in which humans have become the dominant influence on the climate and the natural environment. There is an urgent need to take a new direction to adapt marketing theory and practice to these pressing global needs. In this study, we investigate the following questions: What role should marketing play in the era of the Anthropocene? What concepts, outcomes, tools and theories does marketing offer to support a transition towards Marketing in the Anthropocene? We conduct a scoping literature review based on different research directions and propose a conceptualization for “Marketing in the Anthropocene” as an inspirational, forward-looking concept, tool and practice for marketers and marketing researchers. We highlight relevant marketing tools and theories and provide guiding questions for future research and practice.
... In response, marketers have focused on green demarketing. Green demarketing focuses on appealing to consumers to reduce product consumption to alleviate the environmental degradation caused by overconsumption (Soule & Reich, 2015). Some studies have shown that using green demarketing strategies in the business sector can Xiaomei Wang wangxiaom@hzcu.edu.cn 1 and traditional advertising aimed at boosting sales, with the former potentially perceived as somewhat radical, investigating the underlying mechanisms of consumer information processing in green demarketing advertising is imperative. ...
... Foxall and Robert (1995) introduced an ecologically oriented demarketing framework to reduce environmentally impactful consumer behaviors. Driven by the commercial intent of these practices, Soule and Reich (2015) coined the green demarketing concept-companies reduce categorylevel consumption out of concern for the environment by encouraging key brand purchases. Green demarketing is a type of green advertising whose message is anti-consumption. ...
... Inferences from altruistic (versus egoistic) motives enhance consumers' trust, elevating their brand attitudes and its products (Ellen et al., 2006). Soule and Reich (2015) assert that in the green demarketing context, consumers seldom adopt objective and verifiable standards to infer a brand's true intentions. The message's sender, a profit-driven organization, presents a contradiction by calling for people to "buy less". ...
This study examines how different green demarketing information types affect consumers’ brand evaluation and psychological processes. Based on three experiments conducted in China, our results reveal that specific claims have stronger effects on brand evaluations than vague claims. Additionally, specific (or vague) claims have a stronger indirect positive impact by stimulating environmental concern inferences and attitudes toward an ad when matched with loss (or gain) framing. Besides that, perceived environmental relevance of a product moderated this interaction effect, with specific claims using loss framing being more appropriate for high environmental relevance products, while low environmental relevance products are more appropriate for vague claims using gain framing. Therefore, green demarketing may significantly influence establishment of a favorable brand reputation and provide theoretical support for selecting and maximizing green demarketing strategies in the future.
... A related literature stream focuses on sufficiency marketing through businesses. Building on alternative, critical marketing concepts like green de-marketing (Armstrong Soule & Reich, 2015), sufficiency marketing research reviews how companies can use their marketing, especially communication and advertisements, to influence consumer behaviour (Frick et al., 2021;Gossen & Kropfeld, 2022;Gossen et al., 2019). This research stream is similarly small and encompasses only a handful of publications. ...
... One research strand on sufficiency businesses therefore looks at sufficiency marketing. Sufficiency marketing builds on other alternative marketing approaches, such as social marketing and (green) demarketing (Armstrong Soule & Reich, 2015;Balderjahn & Appenfeller, 2023;Peattie & Peattie, 2009). Businesses can use the 4Ps marketing mix to promote sufficiency, for example by encouraging longevity, repair and reuse in their products or adopting premium prices (Gossen et al., 2019). ...
... Companies can also use a more radical form of green communications: the green demarketing approach. Green demarketing (GD) refers to "a brand's strategic attempt to reduce consumption at a category level through encouraging focal brand purchase, ostensibly out of the concern for the environment" (Armstrong Soule & Reich, 2015, p. 1404, p. 1404. With GD, a company actively uses its advertising to discourage consumption. ...
... Çevre adına belirli bir şirketin markasını alarak tüketicileri daha az satın almaya teşvik eden green demarketing (satışları geriletme), markanın sürdürülebilir iş yapma pratiklerinin uyumunu gerektirir ve markanın çevresel itibarı tüketicilerin markanın hazırladığı kampanyalara vereceği tepkinin en kuvvetli belirleyicisi konumundadır (Armstrong Soule & Reich, 2015). Reklamdan sürdürebilirlik adına davranış değişikliği elde etmenin yolu olarak, green demarketing stratejisinde olduğu gibi tüketimi azaltmaya dair mesajlara yer verilmesi olabilir. ...
... It shows a strong consumer motives and attribution towards the sustainable practices of the brands. Armstrong Soule, C. A., & Reich, B. J. (2015), the study approaches the demarketing strategies of 4p's against the overtourism. The demarketing strategy can mitigate efforts towards overtourism across the globe (Gülşen, U.,2021). ...
Marketing is the game changing strategic tool used to influence and nudge consumer behaviour towards a product. Demarketing is an inverse marketing strategy which would help shape the demand and behaviour of the consumer. This chapter intends to bring forward the prominent papers and research made along with the leading authors in this area, identification of research areas yet to be explored, the thematic perception of research through which the topic of demarketing has been approached. Through this chapter it found that more stress is given to demarketing in the field of health concerns and sustainable tourism, while identifying some of the core source papers in this area and prominent papers by Philip Kotler acting as a base in this area.
... (19) Sustainable marketing, (20) is about much more than doing an environmentally accountable action, but it also provides a tremendous opportunity for businesses. Armstrong Soule, (21) for example, have presented One on either hand, green de-marketing is an advertising strategy that encourages clients to decrease their demand in the area environmentally sustainable. Wang (22) have provided corporate sustainability, according to a prior study, has a significant effect on consumer profits. ...
User behavior has had a significant impact on the fashion sector's marketing strategy. Environmental knowledge, market attitude, social conditioning, and value perception worth all had a favorable influence on the buying, but market attitude had the significant impacts. This study used a decision-making model that encompassed cognition, emotive, and behavior intentions to examine customer behavior of product consumer engagement. On the questionnaires, the demographic and hypothesis measurement items were separated. Only 370 of the 500 persons who applied have any previous experience shopping in the fashion industry. The major factors used to measure hypotheses are Promotional Strategy, Customer Satisfaction, Relationship Satisfaction, Purchase Intent, Loyalty Intention, and Participation Intention. All elements were evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale to measure from 1 – 5. This study also suggests that in order to achieve marketing goals and achieve long-term effectiveness for businesses, marketing content should be followed by Marketing Activity (MA) and Customer Experience (CE).
... Armstrong divides green marketing into four strategic dimensions: market segmentation, corporate objectives, product positioning, and differentiated competition. He investigates how corporations can strategically adapt within these dimensions to promote both corporate and local sustainable development [44]. Bombiak argues that enterprises should bear the full environmental costs associated with social development through green marketing initiatives, thereby creating an economic system that supports local sustainability [45]. ...
Understanding the mechanisms by which the combination of green marketing components fosters local sustainable development is crucial for global regions in achieving the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Utilizing panel data from China’s provinces from 2011 to 2022, this study employs the DEA model to assess both the static and dynamic efficiencies of sustainable development across China’s 31 provinces. Subsequently, drawing on the 6P theory of marketing element combination, this study selects human input, capital input, energy input, technological output, economic output, and ecological output as causal variables, with the local sustainable development index serving as the outcome variable. By integrating the fsQCA method, the study identifies four distinct configurations: a “single input–multiple output” model, a “multiple input–single output” model, an “input–output” linkage model, and an “input-driven” model. This conclusion can enhance the comprehension of the dynamics through which various combinations of green marketing components contribute to local sustainable development from a regional macroeconomic perspective, offering a theoretical foundation for achieving sustainable development globally.
... These actions typically take the form of messages such as 'Consume less' or 'Drink responsibly.' Brand self-regulation is typically framed as a socially responsible practice, signaling a brand's commitment to consumers, employees, communities, and societal welfare. It reflects a dedication to sustainability and an improved public image, even if it means sacrificing profits (Reich and Soule 2016;Sekhon and Soule 2020;Soule and Reich 2015;Simmons and Becker-Olsen 2006). However, the impact of successful brand self-regulation on eliciting positive responses from consumers remains uncertain, particularly regarding whether it aligns with a brand's intentions. ...
... Considering that a brand self-regulatory message is generally directed toward the public to receive positive consumer responses (e.g., Reich and Soule 2016;Sekhon and Soule 2020;Soule and Reich 2015;Simmons and Becker-Olsen 2006), it remains unclear whether all consumers react positively or negatively to such messages. This study proposes that consumers' pre-existing attitudes toward a brand or product can influence their responses to a brand's self-regulatory message. ...
... Brand self-regulation as a socially responsible practice has public health or social welfare as its central cause (Reich and Soule 2016;Sekhon and Soule 2020;Soule and Reich 2015;Simmons and Becker-Olsen 2006). Cause involvement, which is of personal relevance and importance to a cause built upon personal experiences (e.g., a father's death by lung cancer), values (e.g., environmentally conscious), and interests (e.g., fashion) (Grau and Folse 2007), can stimulate a greater level of cognitive effort to process and evaluate the brand's self-regulatory message. ...
This study investigated the effect of self-regulatory messages by brands held accountable for causing public health concerns. With a brand’s aim to enhance the brand's public image by countering the negative perception of its products, the question was raised whether an individual brand communicating self-regulatory messages would receive a positive brand attitude. Results revealed that the brand’s self-regulatory message was positively evaluated only when consumers favored a brand. Consumers who had a negative attitude toward the brand reacted negatively to the self-regulatory message by the brand. Consumers also exhibited adverse brand evaluations when unfavorable to a product category. Ulterior motives of the brand were more inferred when they viewed a self-regulatory message than a promotional message. Consumer pre-existing attitude toward a brand or a product moderated the causal relationships of a self-regulatory message, ulterior motives, counterarguments, and brand attitude. The study highlights that brand communication of self-regulatory messages may not yield positive responses, especially when targeting the general public as a socially responsible action. Brands should be selective in their target audience, focusing on those who already hold a favorable view of the brand, to mitigate the risk of negative responses.
... At the same time, marketing has been criticized for contributing to environmental problems by promoting a culture of consumption [30] and enabling a cycle of overconsumption and environmental degradation. Suggested terms for alternative approaches include green demarketing [31] or sufficiency-oriented marketing [32]. ...
The secondhand clothing market is crucial for redirecting consumption away from new garments, promoting reused clothing, and preventing premature disposal. This article examines the business and marketing strategies, distribution channels, and communications of secondhand clothing companies to analyze how they attract consumers to extend the lifetime of garments. Empirical data consist of market ethnography, including physical visits to stores and observations of companies' digital channels. Qualitative data were collected for six months, and a total of 20 companies operating in the Finnish secondhand market were included. The findings reveal that secondhand companies use different operating models with a variety of marketing practices to attract consumers and facilitate product circulation. Some marketing practices appear to unintentionally promote increased consumption: tactical pricing and constant discounts, novelty-driven merchandising, and call-to-action communication may attract customers to unconsidered purchases. Some secondhand companies also appeared to offer credit to sellers for the purchase of new items, which could lead to higher rather than lower consumption. Secondhand companies predominantly prioritize transactions, yet sufficiency-orienting marketing practices for intensifying use or extending product lifetime are less emphasized.
... Em contraponto, tem-se também o demarketing, também denominado de marketing ao contrário, ou mesmo contramarketing Reich, 2015). Entende-se o demarketing como uma tentativa organizacional de desencorajar a compra e/ou o consumo, seja de alguns ou de todos os seus consumidores, e seja de forma temporária ou permanentemente (Hesse;Rünz, 2022). ...
... Entende-se o demarketing como uma tentativa organizacional de desencorajar a compra e/ou o consumo, seja de alguns ou de todos os seus consumidores, e seja de forma temporária ou permanentemente (Hesse;Rünz, 2022). Dessa forma, observa-se uma perspectiva mercadológica não intuitiva, de persuasão no sentido de diminuição ou mesmo eliminação de demanda Reich, 2015). ...
... Embora sejam reconhecidos avanços ambientais, como a reciclagem e a eficiência energética, os especialistas ambientais predominantemente defendem que a redução significativa da degradação ambiental acontecerá apenas por meio da redução do consumo (Princen, 2010;Sodhi 2011;Reich, 2016). Consistente com isso, considerando as consequências negativas da atuação organizacional, tanto ambientais quanto sociais, demanda-se uma revisão das práticas administrativas e, especialmente, mercadológicas (Blez; Peattie, 2012, Reich, 2015). Esse contexto se mostra favorável para o surgimento do conceito e da posterior prática de demarkerting (Zhang et al., 2021;Hesse;Rünz, 2022). ...
RESUMO: O trabalho teve como objetivo entender a reação do consumidor frente às duas práticas opostas desenvolvidas pelas organizações no contexto de maior valorização do aspecto ambiental, comparando-se, então, a adoção da prática de greenwashing e do demarketing. A fundamentação teórica parte de uma discussão mais geral acerca da sustentabilidade, afunilando-se, mais especificamente, na adoção incorreta do marketing verde, com a prática de greenwashing, de um lado, e na adoção extremada da responsabilização ambiental, com a prática de demarketing, por outro lado. O procedimento metodológico teve abordagem qualitativa, sendo realizado um grupo focal junto a consumidores. Foi possível observar um desconhecimento generalizado dos consumidores acerca de ambas práticas, mas com diferenças em termos de apreciações: negatividade em relação ao greenwashing, considerado frequente, e estranheza e até indiferença quanto ao demarketing, tido como raro.
Palavras-chave: Sustentabilidade; Greenwashing; Demarketing; Consumidores; Grupo focal.
ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to understand the consumer's reaction to the two opposing practices developed by organizations in the context of increased environmental awareness. It involved comparing the adoption of bothgreenwashing and demarketing strategies. The theoretical foundation beginswith a broad discussion of sustainability, focusing more specifically on theproblematic adoption of green marketing. This includes the practice ofgreenwashing on one end of the spectrum, and the extreme adoption ofenvironmental accountability, with the practice of demarketing, on the other.The methodological procedure employed a qualitative approach, conducting afocus group session with consumers. The findings revealed a general lack ofknowledge among consumers about both practices, but with differences in termsof assessments: negativity towards greenwashing, considered frequent, andstrangeness and even indifference towards demarketing, considered rare.
Keywords: Sustainability; Greenwashing; Of marketing; Consumers; Focus group.
