By Meredith Gibson

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“The United States comprises only 5 per cent of the world’s population, but has consumed about 5 times more than an average Mexican, 10 times as much as an average Chinese and 30 times more than the average person in India”

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“Green advertising has been studied extensively to help develop effective environmental

communication strategies targeting green consumers”

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“Any advertising that explicitly or implicitly promotes an awareness of

environmental issues and/or suggests behaviors useful in

minimizing or correcting these environmental issues”

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Others encourage consumers to consume conscientiously in their

day to day lives

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Can green advertisements help us consume less?

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“Nearly 83% of global consumers say that it is important to implement a variety of programs that protect the environment, [yet] only 22% would pay more for eco-friendly products.”

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Why is this the case?

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The cost of behaving environmentally influences environmental attitudes and

subsequent behaviors

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Consumers often feel the government should protect the environment

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Others feel future technological endeavours will fix our current

environmental problems

To add, consumers often mistrust companies that promote green

products without necessarily being green themselves

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In fact, approximately $500 million to $1 billion is spent annually on green public

relations and ads in the United States

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In many cases, companies spend more money on

green advertising than on funding for

environmental groups

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How do we fix this green gap?

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References Fowler, R.A., and Close, A.G. (2013). It Ain’t Easy Being Green: Macro, Meso,

Micro Green Advertising Agendas. Journal of Advertising, 41(4), 119-132.

Jimenez, M., and Yang, K.C.C. (2008). How Guilt Level Affects Green Advertising Effectiveness? Journal of Creative Communications, 3(3), 231-254.

Nakajima, N. (2001). Green Advertising and Green Public Relations as Integration Propaganda. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 21(5), 334-348.

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Image Credits: Slide 1-20 Flickr Creative Commons 3.0