Green marketing has not lived up to the hopes and dreams of many managers and activists. Although public opinion polls consistently show that consumers would prefer to choose a green product over one that is less friendly to the environment when all other things are equal, those “other things” are rarely equal in the minds of consumers.
For example, when consumers are forced to make trade-offs between product attributes or helping the environment, the environment almost never wins. Most consumers simply will not sacrifice their needs or desires just to be green, as the case of the Ford Think, a two-seater electric car, demonstrates. Ford Motor Co. initially expected this car to be a big hit, but late in 2002 the company announced it was scrapping the vehicle. The Think, which required six hours of recharging after being driven for only 50 miles, would have required drastic changes in driving behavior by its owners. The lesson is that regardless of their environmental benefits, electric-powered cars will remain a niche product at best until manufacturers can radically improve battery life and cost.1 (This also explains why car manufacturers are now pinning their hopes on gas- and electric-powered hybrids.)
Hopes for green products have also been hurt by the perception that such products are of lower quality or don’t really deliver on their environmental promises.... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
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