What is Green Marketing?

David Platt • 24 September 2019

How marketing is going eco-friendly and how you can too.

Whilst we could argue that taking a stance on the environment, ensuring products are from sustainable sources and not contributing to global warming, is morally right, there is another reason to consider your environmental position: Profit.

Not only do environmental credentials make a product more attractive to a consumer but according to research agency Nielson, consumers are willing to pay more. The 2014 Nielsen Global Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility polled 30,000 consumers from 60 countries to determine statistics on consumer preferences for sustainable purchasing, and found that:

55% of consumers were willing to pay extra for products and services from companies committed to positive social and environmental impact (up from 45% in 2011)
52% made at least one purchase in the past six months from at least one socially responsible company
52% check product packaging to ensure sustainable impact

These numbers from 2014 are being updated but anecdotally one expects these numbers to significantly rise over the coming years.

Companies and marketers who do not lock into this trend are not only in danger of missing out on a potential competitive advantage but may do serious harm to their brand and brand loyalty. But, this is not a question of changing the packaging and relabeling whilst claiming to be environmentally friendly – not one likes ‘Green wash’.

Greenwashing

The most famous example comes from US company, Coopertone sunscreen, with a "no CFCs" label. Being a chlorofluorocarbon-free product sounds great (you can help save the ozone layer), until you realize that CFC production in the United States had been banned since 1995. The Twittersphere lit up and the brand's image and reputation damaged.

The Green Marketing Mix

PRODUCT

Does the product itself have the best sustainability credentials possible? Is the design and development of new products driven by an environmental perspective. Not every product can be an evangelist but nor should you leave yourself open to obvious criticism. Use recyclable or eco-friendly materials where you can.

PROMOTION

When you are running your marketing campaigns, are you doing so in an environmentally friendly manner? For example, if you're running a direct marketing campaign, try using recycled paper, or leave the direct marketing altogether and go digital. Are you using cheap plastic promotional products? Use eco-friendly promotional gifts, much like the ones we here at Pavilion Earth provide. Have a look at what we can do for your marketing campaigns.

PLACE

Are you being eco-friendly in your stores. The consideration here is not just about how your staff may manage their level of sustainability on site, but also how it might vary with manufacturers. Are you using suppliers that are close by, is your distribution network easy with distribution centres placed at effective locations? Is individual delivery working or would it be more sustainable to deliver to a single location similar to how there are Amazon lock boxes?

PRICE

Yes, you can charge more – but whether you should will come down to old fashioned competitive positioning arguments.

PROCESS

It's not just your materials that need to environmentally friendly but your process too. Are you recycling plastic onsite at the manufacturers? Are you using minimal packaging to deliver your products. Are you providing hybrid company cars? Are you offsetting your carbon with large international deliveries?

Remember when it comes being a brand that cares for the environment, you need to try and makes changes at nearly every station, not just with a recycling bin in the corner.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Share this blog:

Evaluating Carbon Footprint in Branded Merchandise

by David Platt • 13 April 2026

SUMMARY: Comparing eco promotional products is difficult because of the range of materials used Carbon footprint is a measure which allows comparison Need to look at CO2 equivalent because of the use of organic solvents in promotional merchandise There is a difference between Cradle to Gate and Cradle to Grave in the measurement, because we never know whether the end user will attempt to recycle products Pavilion is a specialist in providing branded promotional products, which are sustainable. The most common question we're asked, of course, is what's the most sustainable branded product? And how would you measure that? And that's a difficult question and often comes with hesitations. Why? This blog aims to try and explain eco credentials, particularly for promotional merchandise and how you might compare them. The first problem you have, is that you're comparing different materials. This is why it's difficult is because there's no true standard of sustainability. There is no international marking that says, this one's a 10, and this one's a 1. The nearest you have is carbon footprint. Carbon footprint generally means the amount of carbon dioxide measured in kilos, but you have to be a bit careful with that, particularly for promotional merchandise because carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas. You may be fully aware that methane, natural gas has a global warming effect 50 to 60 times more than CO2. So, you don't need to measure just CO2, you've really have to look at a CO2 equivalent. In other words, converting the methane. And why do I mention that? Promotional merchandise is often printed and unless you are using water based inks, there will be solvents, and therefore, CO2 equivalent is what you need to measure. The next problem that you've have is what are you measuring the carbon footprint of? Are we talking what's termed - Cradle to Grave or Cradle to Gate? The concept is explained in the diagram.

Cork for Eco Branded Merchandise

17 February 2026

Cork - what is it? where does it come from and is it a sustainable product? This blog answers these questions and explains why cork is such a great material