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Green Advertising: Salvation or Oxymoron?

William E. Kilbourne
Published online: 31 May 2013.

To cite this article: William E. Kilbourne (1995) Green Advertising: Salvation or Oxymoron?, Journal of Advertising,
24:2, 7-20, DOI: 10.1080/00913367.1995.10673472

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 Green Advertising: Salvation or Oxymoron?
William E. Kilbourne

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the nature ofgreen advertising, thus demonstrating that the concept is
far more complex than the extant marketing literature suggests. Green is characterized here as a two dimen-
sional concept with political (reformism to radicalism) and human positional (anthropocentric to ecocentric)
dimensions. It is argued here that there are at least five different types ofgreen, including environmentalism,
conseruationism, human welfare ecology, preseruationism, and ecologism. To understand the greenness of an
advertisement, it is useful to position it within this framework; and each type suggests a different human
position with respect to nature and a different political orientation. The proposed framework is useful for
defining terms such as "green, " "enuironmental, "and "ecological" which are often used interchangeably in the
marketing and advertising literature.
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William E. Kilbourne (ph.D., University Much has been written within the marketing/ecology domain in the
of Houston) is currently a Professor of
Marketing at Sam Houston State last twenty years. Beginning with Fisk's (1974) seminal book, Market-
University. His previous research has ing and the Ecological Crisis, interest in the area developed and evolved
appeared in the Journal of Marketing into a series of ecological marketing workshops beginning in 1975 and
Research, Journal of Business Research,
Journal of the Academy of Marketing repeated in 1979. Special issues of such journals as the Journal of
Science, Journal of Advertising and Business Research in 1994 and the Journal of Public Policy and Market-
others. His current research interest is in ing in 1991 have focused on ecology, the environment, and on green
the ecological and ethical implications of
marketing practices. marketing.
There appears to be, however, an anomalous development within this
particular field of study. Unlike other areas of investigation where a
theoretical framework is developed to direct further research, a similar
pattern has not developed in the green marketing literature. Research
tends to be fragmentary and highly specific with common goals focusing
on the identification of ecologically conscious consumers as a target
market or the development of scales to assess the level of environmental
concern among consumers. Of the twenty-two papers within the Eco-
logical Marketing Workshop and the environmental issue of the Jour-
nal of Public Policy and Marketing, none addressed the issue of a theo-
retical framework for environmental studies in marketing. Marketers
do not appear to be compelled to define clearly what is encapsulated
under the general rubric of "ecological concern." A notable exception to
this is Iyer and Banerjee (1993), who explore the possibility of develop-
ing a framework for categorizing green advertisements.
As is evident from the first two paragraphs, the terms ecology, envi-
ronment, and green appear synonymous. This is characteristic of the
literature cited. The purpose of this paper is to bring into the advertis-
ing literature a clearer delineation of what an ecological perspective
entails and how it is qualitatively different from an environmental
perspective. It will be demonstrated that, within the ecology literature,
environmentalism and ecologism are not only different, but that they
are virtually political antitheses. Once this distinction is made clear,
the relationship between ecology and advertising can be examined in a
Journal of Advertising, fruitful way drawing from a rich literature in ecology, ethics, political
Volume XXIV, Number 2 science, economics, and philosophy of science. An attempt is made to
Summer 1995 offer a synthesis which will define the ecological domain in such a way
 8 Journal of Advertising

that its true richness and diversity can be under- should not be surprising since Kangun, Carlson and
stood. From this starting point, a research agenda Grove (1991) found that 58% of environmental ads
can be developed. sampled contained at least one misleading or decep-
tive claim. It would appear that Fisk's warnings were
Marketing and Ecology not headed.

Before embarking on the primary task ofthe paper, What Does Green Mean?
a slight diversion into the context of the problem is in
order. This is considered necessary since advertising To develop a clear distinction between environmen-
can be viewed as a subsystem of marketing practice. talism and ecologism, a framework within which the
While it is not the intent of the paper to focus on the nature of "Green" can be established is developed. It
whole area of marketing, it is essential to recognize will be shown that the concept is not uni-dimensional
that advertising cannot be effectively separated from as implied by the contemporary business literature.
its marketing context. This would be anti-ecological There are two dimensions which will be developed for
in itself. What is advertised and how it is advertised purposes of this paper, the political and the posi-
are driven by and interact with products, prices, and tional (position of humans in nature) (See Figure 1).
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distribution practices. Thus, there can be no truly Depending on one's particular intellectual bent or
green advertising if there is not something green about purpose, others might be established as well.
the product (e.g., use of resources, packaging, energy The political dimension reflects the relative posi-
efficient transport system). The greening of market- tions one might take regarding how change is to be
ing will not take place until consumers and producers effected and how much change is acceptable. The ques-
recognize the imminent ecological crisis. When these tion is whether political reform is sufficient. If it is,
groups change their behavior and priorities, then new then all necessary change can be brought about by
social institutions informed by ecological conscious- enacting new legislation on such problems as pollu-
ness can evolve. Such marketing institutions would tion control, recycling, and toxic waste disposal. This
produce more ecologically benign products, develop tradition, reformism, accepts as axiomatic that the
modes of promotion that do not encourage ecologi- dominant social paradigm, and through it, the status
cally destructive consumption, as well as develop quo, should be maintained. The opposite extreme on
modes of distribution that minimize ecological im- the scale is referred to as radicalism, which calls into
pact on both the environment and resource use. Thus, question the paradigm itself, maintaining that politi-
the problems lie within the domain of marketing prac- cal reform is insufficient to engender the magnitude
tice, and advertising is only one interdependent piece or type of change necessary to preserve the environ-
of that domain. ment in the long run. Thus, in the political dimen-
While marketing technology has contributed sig- sion, reformism and radicalism are at opposite ends
nificantly to the ecological crisis, mitigation of that of the continuum (Dolbeare and Dolbeare 1976). Ly-
same crisis is immanent in the marketing process as ing between these extremes is reform liberalism which
well (Fisk 1974). Partially because ofthe reductionist offers a modest challenge to the stock assumptions of
solutions imposed on the problems, the ameliorative the dominant social paradigm, but its proponents con-
power of marketing had not appeared when Fisk sider that social ills can be alleviated with political
(1974) first offered his ecological analysis of the mar- reform. The difficulty in reform liberalism, according
keting process. From outward appearances, it has to Dolbeare and Dolbeare (1976), is that it seeks re-
not materialized in the ensuing twenty years except, form using the established procedures that resulted
as Fisk suggested, under duress from government or in the conditions denounced. Real, substantive change
consumers. refers to changes in the dominant ideology (social
It has been argued that advertising has the power paradigm) regarding "poverty, unemployment, war,
to effect social change; but if advertisers continue to racism, deterioration of the physical and natural en-
misuse their power in promoting false ecological vironment" (Dolbeare and Dolbeare 1976, p. 73).
claims, then its power to mitigate the imminent crisis The second dimension is the positional which means
will be diminished (Fisk 1974). This is evidenced by the position that humans consider themselves to oc-
the fact that consumers have suggested the least cred- cupy in the ecology vis a vis the rest of the biotic
ible source for environmental information is an ad by community. The prevailing view within the dominant
a major company (Iyer and Banerjee 1993). This social paradigm is anthropocentrism (Dobson 1990;
 Summer 1995 9

Figure 1
Levels of Ecological Concern

Reformism

Environmentalism
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Human Welfare
Anthropocentric Ecocentric

Preservationism

Ecologism

Radicalism

Porritt 1984; Capra 1982). This perspective is closely lem should be resolved. As suggested earlier, one of
aligned with others such as technocentrism (O'Riordan the difficulties in evaluating the green properties of
1976) and human centeredness (Fox 1986). Each tends any aspect of marketing is the somewhat indiscrimi-
to see in nature instrumental value for purely human nate use of the term. This problem is recognized even
purposes. The contrary view is referred to here as in the ecological literature. Eckersley (1992), for ex-
ecocentrism which reflects the idea that the ecology ample, states:
is characterized by inherent value rather than hu- Of course, the label Green is an extraordinarily
man instrumental value. This is not to suggest that elastic one that has been applied to, or appropri-
ecocentrism has no anthropocentric properties since ated by, all manner of environmental and political
any concept that is the product of human rationality positions over the past decade (p. 8).
is, by definition, anthropocentric to some degree
(O'Riordan 1976; Dobson 1990). The difference between types of green can best be
Before proceeding further, one terminology prob- described as anthropocentric green and ecocentric
 10 Journal of Advertising

green, or what Dobson (1990) refers to as green with Reformism is the preferred mode of critique within
a "little g" and Green with a "capital G," respectively. the dominant social paradigm since it does not chal-
In the present paper, the two positions will be re- lenge the liberal, technological foundations upon which
ferred to as environmentalism and ecologism. Within it rests. The solution set derived from this mode of
the framework developed here, environmentalism is analysis always lies within technological rationality
in the upper left quadrant and ecologism is in the motivated by unlimited economic growth and con-
lower right quadrant as shown in Figure 1. When the sumption (Kassiola 1990). England and Bluestone
term "Green" is used, Dobson's convention will be (1972) refer to this state as follows:
followed. With these concepts in hand, the discussion As a consequence, though middle-class acceptance
will now turn to their political and positional dimen- of the urgency of the environmental issue is wide-
sions. spread, there is also a tendency to perceive the
problem of protecting the environment in techni-
cal, rather than political, terms (p. 203).
Political Dimension
And in a confirmation and critique of this a-politi-
As Eckersley (1992) states, ..... from the point of cal posture, Winner (1986) adds:
view of the participants in the Green movement and A crucial failure in modern political thought and
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in Green political parties, the word Green represents political practice has been the inability or unwill-
a distinctive body of ideas and a new political force" ingness even to begin...the critical evaluation and
(p. 8). This suggests that environmentalism repre- control of society's technical constitution (p. 57).
sents an ideology of political reform motivated by a This sentiment regarding the "techno-fix," a term
world view that deviates dramatically from that within referring to the prevailing view that every problem
which ecologism was developed. It evolved out of defi- can and will be solved by advancing science/technol-
ciencies of social and political theory development ogy (Ehrenfeld 1978), is prevalent today. Further,
which were primarily concerned with distributional within the status quo, it is considered the reform of
justice and democratic participation. Rodman (1980) choice (Dobson 1990; Trainer 1985). To do otherwise
describes environmentalism as having been: would call into question the basic tenets of liberal
...domesticated by mainstream political science, re- democracy and capitalism (particularly the unequal
duced to the study of pollution control policy and distribution of wealth and power) and the industrial
environmental interest groups, and eventually ab- ideology that evolved through them and continuously
sorbed within the framework of "the policy pro-
reinforces them. The prevailing ideology is inimical
cess" and the "politics of getting" (p. 65).
to such investigations, however, and analytical meth-
A casual examination of the contemporary business ods different from those commonly used for inquiry
literature reveals the validity of the criticism. Within are necessary. Among those methodological exten-
the dominant socio-political agenda, we find unlim- sions with emancipation potential are critical theory
ited economic growth (Schmookler 1993; Kassiola (Murray and Ozanne 1991; Rogers 1987) and Marx-
1990) and technological rationality (Habermas 1971; ist/feminist critique (Rothschild 1983; Hirschman
Marcuse 1964) as the sustaining ideologies of the 1993). With these approaches, the ideological basis of
dominant social paradigm which is the intellectual the ecological problem can be examined effectively
framework within which environmentalism has mobilizing "the critical evaluation and control of
evolved. There is, within environmentalism, virtu- society's technical constitution" and helping to estab-
ally no allusion to the root causes of the current eco- lish Fisk's (1973) call for rational consumption.
logical crisis. England and Bluestone (1972) suggest Environmentalism, as a social concept, circum-
this results from economic reductionism defining a scribes the domain of social critique within the pre-
socio-political problem as a technical one. vailing view of post-industrial society as the techno-
While the paucity of socio-political critique within logical, affluent, service society in opposition to the
the marketing/advertising domain is evident, it is not radical version of post-industrial society as low tech-
at all clear why this should be the case. Part of the nology, agrarian, and decentralized (Dobson 1990).
explanation for this paucity of critique, it is argued The environmentalism concept limits the scope of po-
here, lies in the ideology of industrialization and re- litical analysis to quantitative change within the domi-
sistance within the dominant social paradigm which nant social paradigm suggesting changes in methods
eschews the anti-industrial implications of radical of operation within the framework of the status quo
social critique (porritt 1984; Marcuse 1964, 1969). (porritt 1984). Within this mode of thought, for ex-
 Summer 1995 11

ample, it is believed that what technology and eco- of Enlightenment science and English liberalism
nomic growth cannot solve, legislation can (Milbrath sounded the death knell of feudalism and religious
1984). Environmentalism does not present a chal- hegemony (Dumont 1977) and ushered in a new world
lenge to the dominant paradigm, and Porritt and Win- view that has prevailed to the present time (Mer-
ner (1988) state further: chant 1992). Among the basic axioms that evolved in
...the most radical [Green aim] seeks nothing less the process were possessive individualism
than a non-violent revolution to overthrow our (MacPherson 1962), unlimited accumulation of mate-
whole polluting, plundering and materialistic in- rial wealth (Locke 1963), and free markets (Smith
dustrial society and, in its place, to create a new 1937). Each axiom must be reexamined in the context
economic and social order which will allow human of contemporary society (Eckersley 1992) before any
beings to live in harmony with the planet (p. 9). progress can be made in developing a sustainable
Ecologism, on the other hand, challenges the foun- society based on sound ecological principles. About
dations of the paradigm itself demanding a new para- these historical developments, Leeson (1979) states:
digm in place of the old (Dobson 1990). As such, It was the unleashing of the passion for material
ecologism represents a new paradigm (Kuhn 1970) abundance, legitimized by Hobbesian natural right,
that will replace the one that evolved from Enlighten- amplified by Locke, combined with the rejection of
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ment thought and is still dominant today. The new the classical commitment to reason and proper
paradigm demands a restructuring of the whole of limits that caused the ecological crisis (p. 317).
social existence entailing nonviolent, radical (as op- The historical process through which the prevail-
posed to reformist) transformation of the social, po- ing world view was transformed from organic to me-
litical, and economic structure of post industrial soci- chanical is described in detail by Merchant (1982,
ety (Dobson 1990). Rather than navigating within 1992), Leiss (1972), and Dobson (1990). Kassiola (1990)
the dominant social paradigm, it seeks qualitative provides a political perspective on the changes. In
change in the systems of thought that have struc- addition, each describes how the prevailing attitude
tured the consciousness of Western industrial society toward nature was transformed from one of rever-
for the past three centuries (Pirages 1977; Cotgrove ence and harmony to one of exploitation and domina-
1982). As such, it represents a change in conscious- tion. It is a direct consequence of this shift in world
ness rather than a change in behavior. While little view that nature has been stripped of intrinsic value
attention has been paid within the advertising litera- as described by Regan (1981) and, consequently, rav-
ture to the connection between the prevailing mode of aged in the name of human progress. Goldsmith (1988)
thought embedded in the dominant social paradigm refers to the consequences of this process as the cre-
and current environmental conditions, the link should ation of a surrogate world of "material goods and
become evident upon closer examination of the posi- technological devices." This transformation from
tional dimension. organicism to mechanism and its attendant conse-
quences, both social and physical, motivated the de-
Positional Dimension velopment of anthropocentrism and is now the force
against which ecocentrists align themselves. From
To examine this dimension, a brief historical analy- the perspective of ecologism, it can be concluded that
sis of the development of the dominant social para- environmental reform as currently practiced within
digm will be developed. This will be followed by an the framework of Western industrial ideology may
assessment of its impact on green thought as it exists achieve too little, too late. This is not to say that
today. environmentalism, as traditionally conceived, is
The development of the contemporary world view wrong, but that it is deficient. As Porritt (1984) sug-
in Western industrial societies has manifested itself gests,
through an evolutionary process beginning in early Concern for the environment provides as good a
industrialization and the Enlightenment and continu- starting point as any for green politics. But unless
ing through to the present time. As the Enlighten- it then encompasses fundamental social and eco-
ment project unfolded, its effects systematically and nomic issues, it will contribute little towards elimi-
progressively eroded religious, social, political, and nating the root causes of that crisis (p, 228).
economic beliefs and, through them, the prevailing These "root causes" can be visualized as multiple
view of nature (Dobson 1990; Kassiola 1990; Rifkin links in an ideological chain going back to the En-
1980; Capra 1982; Merchant 1982). The development lightenment (Kassiola 1990; Dobson 1990; Rifkin 1980;
 12 Journal of Advertising

Leiss 1972; Capra 1982; Merchant 1992). While it is abuse ourselves of the impediment if we are to de-
not the intent of this paper to provide a complete velop more productive inquiry (Gouldner 1973). In
analysis of the evolution of the root causes, it is only particular, the anthropocentric and cornucopian as-
through such a comprehensive analysis that a clear sumptions of the Enlightenment must be challenged
sense of the socio-political nature of the problem can from the perspective of the contemporary world. To
be obtained. Only in doing this can it be seen that the begin the critique, an examination of the main streams
techno-fix and legislative action (a social form of of ecological thought will be developed. O'Riordan
techno-fix referred to in the more general sense of (1976), Rodman (1983), and Eckersley (1992) provide
technique [Winner 1977; Ellul 1964]) will be impo- the framework from which the following was devel-
tent in the solution of ecological problems if not ac- oped. This will be followed by an assessment of the
companied by fundamental cultural change. This sug- different perspectives falling within the framework
gests a true shift away from the dominant social para- developed here.
digm and toward an ecologically based world view·
ecologism. To do otherwise is to address the symp- Recent Development in Green
toms of a culturally based ecological crisis while leav- Thought
ing the root causes intact. The end result of this trun-
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cated evaluational process is that the symptoms will The three major streams of ecopolitical thought that
reemerge in a different time, place, or form (Ophuls have developed over the last three decades are con-
1977). tained in the themes of participation, survival, and
The foregoing suggests neither that the achieve- emancipation (Eckersley 1992). The rise of Green par-
ments of the Enlightenment were culturally inconse- ties can be seen as the emancipatory phase and gives
quential nor that we should somehow return to pre- a new dimension to political debate that does not
Enlightenment modes ofthought. While the long tra- reside within the older left/right politics of the past
dition of humanist ideals has lead to unprecedented (Porritt 1984). While emancipatory Green is still some-
success in human endeavor, it has also led to acceler- what amorphous, it embodies new ideas and "a new
ated ecological degradation. More recently, this has political force" (Porritt 1984, p. 8). Further, within
lead to increasing environmental philosophical in- the "Green," ambit there is debate over the spectrum
quiry into the nature of human existence and, specifi- of potential positions within the dimension.
cally, intrinsic value theories of nature. But the philo- Within the participation view, old assumptions of
sophical inquiry has been directed almost exclusively unlimited economic growth (Kassiola 1990), techno-
toward the human condition. As a consequence, the logical rationality (Marcuse 1964; Habermas 1970),
perspective that "intrinsic value is generally taken to and free market mechanisms were not addressed,
reside exclusively, or at least preeminently, in hu- and the basic cause of environmental degradation
mans," has motivated and directed the inquiry, was considered poor planning or bad management.
shrouding it with a veil of arrogance (Ehrenfeld 1978). Nature as resource is left intact and anthropocentrism
The consequences of this path require that the do- is the social value in this perspective.
main of inquiry be expanded to the non-human world The survivalist perspective of ecopolitical thought
as well, or the reduction of nature to pure instrumen- arrived through the limits to growth debates of the
tal value is inevitable. Within the dominant social 1970's, primarily The Limits to Growth (Meadows et
paradigm, the supremacy of humans over non-hu- a1. 1972) and Blueprint for Survival (Goldsmith et a1.
man entities is the primary assumption and stems 1972). In addition, critiques by Heilbroner (1974),
from the Enlightenment tradition. It remains a stock Ophuls (1977), and Hardin (1968) reasoned that dra-
assumption within the industrial ideology despite matic, Draconian political measures would need to be
mounting evidence that conditions of the past no taken if the human race is to survive in the long run.
longer exist. Even though Copernicus removed the While each preferred less politically repressive solu-
Earth from the center of the Universe and Darwin tions, these were not considered likely to be effective,
removed humans from the center of the Earth, we so the only real choice was between "Leviathan and
still envision ourselves as the center of the universe oblivion" (Ophuls 1973). While most reject the au-
yielding the belief that "We are superior to nature, thoritarian response to ecological crisis, survivalists
contemptuous of it, willing to use it for our slightest have heightened the intensity ofthe debate and chal-
whim" (White 1967, p. 1204). This has become part of lenged the limits of extant social values and political
our "inherited intellectual capital," and we must dis- institutions in dealing with the crisis.
 Summer 1995 13

The emancipation position expands upon the While the anthropocentric view falls short on posi-
survivalist tradition to include not just survival, but tional and political criteria, it surpasses the partici-
survival under conditions of freedom which are per- pation and survivalist traditions by allowing the cri-
ceived to have been eroded under the hegemony of tique of industrialism and unlimited economic growth.
instrumental or technological rationality. Leiss (1978), Consequently, it still falls within the emancipatory
for example, suggests that the limits to growth should position. The key element distinguishing the ecocentric
be viewed, not as a problem, but as an opportunity for positions from the more conservative ones is their
"qualitative improvement in the course of creating insistence that the free market liberalism ofthe domi-
the conserver society" (p. 112). Rodman (1980) fur- nant social paradigm be subordinated to the condi-
ther suggests that the role of government should not tions of ecological (Porritt 1984) and social justice
be to repress economic growth but to stop forcing it (Bookchin 1980, 1990).
through economic policy. This would allow the limits As suggested, within the emancipatory tradition,
of consumption to be exposed as deficient in the satis- the spectrum ranges from environmentalism to
faction of true human needs. Roszak (1979) adds that ecologism with multiple positions between. The fol-
the needs of the person and the needs of the planet lowing will delineate several of these intermediate
have become unified, thus offering the opportunity positions beginning toward environmentalism and
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for cultural renewal. Within the emancipatory tradi- moving toward ecologism. None of the types should
tion, the ecological crisis is also a crisis of culture. Its be considered mutually exclusive as they sometimes
challenge is to "overcome the destructive logic of capi- maintain similar ideas in limited areas. Nor are they
tal accumulation, the acquisitive values of consumer exhaustive, as others could be divined in the litera-
society, and, more generally, all systems of domina- ture.
tion (including class domination, patriarchy, imperi- Resource conservationism. Next to environmental-
alism, racism, totalitarianism, and the domination of ism discussed earlier, the most anthropocentric and
nature)" (Eckersley 1992, p. 21). reformist position is that of resource conservationism
As can be seen, emancipatory theorists offer a chal- which was formed out ofthe scientific and utilitarian
lenge to both liberalism and Enlightenment science! perspectives. Consequently, its focus is on the effi-
technology which are perceived as the means through cient management of natural resources so that they
which the domination of inner and outer nature has will be available for future human centered develop-
evolved. Existing power relations within the domi- ment and use. One of its premises is the Lockean
nant social paradigm serve to disempower the indi- perspective that resources unused are resources
vidual in the name of freedom and growth. The idea wasted. This approach to environmental management
that human self-realization can be achieved through is firmly embedded within the dominant social para-
the domination and transformation of nature is part digm since its basis lies in science and liberalism;
of the intellectual baggage of the Enlightenment that and, consequently, it is well within the limits of ac-
must be discarded for the development of a sustain- ceptable critique. Nature considered as a resource
able society. The argument in emancipatory theory is naturally ties this form to contemporary modes of
for a post-liberal, trans-industrial society (Kassiola production and consumption and reduces the concept
1990). of value in nature to instrumental value only. The
A fundamental disagreement among the essential values of this mode of thought are rational-
emancipatory proponents, however, relates to the per- ity, efficiency, control, and progress. These are the
spective to be taken regarding anthropocentrism. The essential elements of the "ideology of technocentrism"
first is the position that the objective is "human eman- based on "faith in the technology of intervention and
cipation and fulfillment in an ecologically sustain- manipulation" (O'Riordan 1976, p. 17). The ecological
able society" (Eckersley 1992, p. 26). The second ac- crisis is thereby reduced to a management problem in
knowledges the same objective but with a recognition the efficient allocation of resources while ignoring
of the moral standing of the nonhuman world and its ecological diversity and stability (Hayes 1959) and
right to continue evolving. The primary point of de- soft variables such as aesthetic and spiritual needs
parture between the two views is the position of hu- and the intrinsic value of nonhuman life-forms.
mans in the biosphere with ecocentric theorists pos- Eckersley (1992) concludes,
tulating that the current ecological crisis stems from While the recognition of the use value of the
an over inflated sense of human value, or, as Ehrenfeld nonhuman world must form a necessary part of
(1978) calls it, "the arrogance of humanism." any comprehensive environmental ethic, resource
 14 Journal of Advertising

conservation is. too limited a perspective to fonn preservation is to provide human spiritual resuscita-
the exclusive criterion of even a purely anthropo- tion, weak preservation is implied. If the motivation
centric environmental ethic (p. 36).
is inherent value regardless of human use, then strong
To move to a more ecologically based position, the preservationism is implied. The political ramifications
soft variables should be included, at least implicitly. of this position have been pointed out by Eckersley
Human welfare ecology provides this remedy (1992), who concludes that it reflects both a reaction
(Eckersley 1992). against monoculturalism and materialism, two char-
Human Welfare Ecology. This position argues for acteristics of the dominant social paradigm, and a
an enhancement of conditions to include those factors political statement for a particular set of social val-
beyond the narrow economistic vision of resource ues regarding these positional and political dimen-
conservation's efficiency in resource allocation. It ar- sions.
gues against the degradation of the physical and so- While preservationism is a reaction for or against
cial environment by reintroducing the soft variables. certain political or social positions, it still lacks a true
Consequently, it is much more critical of technologi- ecocentric basis since it remains firmly anthropocen-
cal rationality and economic growth as policy. It com- tric in the sense that we, as humans, pick and choose
pels the revaluation of human needs to include the which aspects of our environmental conditions are
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aesthetic and spiritual aspects of life with the recog- worth preserving. At the end of the continuum,
nition that nature degraded cannot provide them. ecologism provides the conditions for an all encom-
While this position is still anthropocentric, it is ar- passing view of nature and, as such, represents the
gued that the biotic community can benefit indirectly full blown political philosophy (Dobson 1990) described
if the human welfare position is adequately defined. earlier in the Political Dimension section.
Fox (1990) suggests that this is only a short run
perspective because it maintains the view that what Can Advertising Be Green?
is of value in the environment is also what is of value
to humans. In the inevitable case of conflict between We are now in a position to return to the question
the human and the nonhuman, the nonhuman will posed in the title of the paper-Green Advertising:
ultimately lose. Rodman (1983) argues similarly in Salvation or Oxymoron? For the remainder of the
his evaluation of moral extensionism, an even stron- paper it will be assumed that advertisers are sincere
ger position than human welfare ecology, that in their efforts to be ecologically responsible. From
"'subhumans' may be accorded rights, but we should the foregoing discussion, it should be clear that the
not be surprised if their interests are normally over- question posed is not as simple as it appears from a
ridden by the weightier interests of humans, ..: (p. casual reading of the marketing/advertising litera-
87). It should not be surprising if human interests ture that systematically fails to define the ambit of
supplant nonhuman rights when the entities involved green. While most would consider any advertisement
have not been provided a definitive moral standing. promoting "environmentally benign" products, recy-
And as Fox (1990) states, "one is contributing to los- cling behavior, or energy conservation to be green,
ing the ecological war by enforcing the cultural per- the foundation of the conclusion depends on the par-
ception that what is valuable in the nonhuman world ticular type of Green one is. Here, however, we must
is what is useful to humans" (p. 186). To reconcile consider both the political and positional dimensions.
this potential ecological dilemma, an additional char- The difficulty in labeling a particular ad as green
acter must be added to the human welfare position. (environmentalism), Green (ecologism), or neither is
This results in the preservationist position. that the explicit message and the meta-message (read-
Preseruationism. To move to the preservationist per- ing between the lines) can, and often do, conflict. A
spective, the aesthetic and spiritual dimensions must second difficulty is that most ads do not necessarily
be introduced into the evaluation of nature. This is fall clearly into one or another category, but maintain
the spirit of preservationism extolled by Muir. The elements of several. This is most likely a product of
fundamental difference between preservation and con- the lack of consistent terminology which has been
servation is the purpose for which it is effected. In addressed in this paper. To demonstrate this point,
conservationism, nature is preserved for future hu- several ads from the "Dow Lets You Do Great Things"
man development and in preservationism it is pre- campaign by Dow Chemical Company will be exam-
served from development. The position might be ex- ined for their green content.
panded to include two forms. If the motivation for If a particular company advocates a "techno-fix,"
 Summer 1995 15

promotes recycling, or promotes its products as bio- conservation principle is clearly in evidence in this
degradable or recyclable, most would consider this to statement, but it is combined with recycling. This
be a Green ad in the customary sense of the word. implies concern for future generations thus moving
From the perspective ofthe framework developed here, to the right on the positional axis. It also suggests
it would be green only in the weakest sense. From the working within the political framework to effect some
production standpoint, the ad deals with a margin- marginal changes in perceptions. The ad also con-
ally useful, albeit necessary, ecological device. It re- tains an additional statement that moves it further
quires no political or social reform, and even the re- down the continuum to human welfare ecology, ex-
sponsibility for the behavior is shifted from the pro- emplifying the problem of categorizing such ads.
ducer, who should be responsible, to the consumer. Moving to human welfare ecology is problematic
From the consumption standpoint, the message is to since it requires that motivation for change be known.
consume with a minimum of ecological impact. This The ad discussed in the conservation classification
is not an accurate depiction of the production/con- also contains a human welfare ecology dimension with
sumption process which is hidden beneath the meta- the statement, "...improve our environment, and en-
message: consuming is good, more is better, and the sure the beauty ofthese lands for generations to come."
ecological cost is minimal. Each aspect of this meta- While the consequences may be similar to
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message is anathema to the ecologist who considers conservationism in the short run, an additional non-
all dimensions of the process. Such an ad, which is economic evaluation of the resource is appended. The
only weakly green, would fall at the environmental- change is on the order of reform liberalism which
ism end of the diagonal in Figure 1. An example of questions the stock assumption about purely economic,
this type of ad used the following text: "It sounds like instrumental value and focuses on the inherent value
my kind of research. Finding new ways to grow more of the resource in yielding human welfare. This as-
food.· The ad advocates human centered consump- pect also renders human welfare actions anthropo-
tion behavior and only minimally reformist produc- centric since it is "human" welfare that is preserved.
tion behavior employing the essence of the "techno- The consequence of human welfare ecology must be
fix," more chemicals to increase food production. A tempered with Fox's (1990) admonition that in a con-
second ad in the series states, "She'll also learn about frontation, nature will lose and we will revert to
protecting our environment. Through a recycling pro- anthropocentrism. To "preserve" the resource in ques-
gram of the National Park Service and its recycling tion, it must be revalued in non-economic terms based
partner, ...• It is clear this ad only promotes recycling on intrinsic values. This change moves the position
behavior and is characteristic of the environmental- lower and to the right in Figure 1.
ism position. Once we have descended the diagonal past the ori-
The environmentalism position can be transcended gin in Figure 1, we move into the area of Green. From
somewhat by adding a conservation perspective. If here, changes will represent challenges to the domi-
the reasoning in the ad is based on preserving re- nant social paradigm; and the balance shifts from
sources so that we can maintain consumption stan- anthropocentrism to ecocentrism on the positional
dards (and profitability) for a longer time period, then scale and to radicalism on the political. And, an un-
the ad represents conservationism and adds to the precedented definition of nonhuman legal and moral
greenness of the previous example. Recognition that rights enters the analysis. Advertisements in this
future generations have some rights to the environ- domain will generally come from non-profit social/
ment shifts this ad down on reformism and to the ecological organizations such as the Sierra Club or
right on anthropocentrism, but it is still tied to "na- Greenpeace but can come from other sources as well.
ture as resource" and management efficiency and, The problem in assessing ads in this category is one
therefore, still within the dominant social paradigm. of intentionality. To be truly preservationist, an in-
Thus, the ad may be green with a little "g. since it is trinsic value motivation must be present. The stock
still advocating increased production and consump- assumptions regarding free markets, material accu-
tion and nature as instrumental. The exemplar from mulation, and profits within the dominant social para-
the chemical company series actually bridges several digm will begin to come under attack. Arguments will
categories defined here. The ad states, "We are com- tend to be deontological rather than utilitarian, fo-
mitted to joining hands with federal agencies, com- cusing on what is inherently "right" rather than the
munities, states, and other industries across the coun- "greatest human good" (Eckersley 1992). This vio-
try to recycle and conserve our resources, ..." The lates both liberalism and Enlightenment science and
 16 Journal of AdvertiBing

technology, thus representing a radical transforma- Implications

tion. We cannot legislate aesthetics and spiritualism
required in preservationism. The ad ostensibly repre- The implications of the proposed definition/catego-
senting this position makes the statement, "When I rization scheme fall in two domains, one for market-
was growing up, Mom and Dad taught me that we've ers and the other for Greens interested in promoting
only got one planet, and we'd better take care of it. ecological values within the marketplace. With re-
Now I'm about to join a company that's committed spect to marketers who would be Green, it is impera-
itself to helping people preserve our wildlife...and to tive that a clear understanding of what Green really
protect the earth." The motivation is not that we, as entails be developed. As was suggested twenty years
humans, will be better off if we do not destroy the ago by Fisk (1974) and more recently by Kangun,
environment, but that doing it is simply not what our Carlson, and Grove (1991) and Iyer and Banerjee
parents taught us. This is a more deontological posi- (1993), the credibility of Green advertising is rela-
tion, and the human instrumental dimension in the tively low. This indicates that a significant problem
previous ad is missing. Caution in classifying this ad exists for marketers who truly desire to be environ-
as preservationist must be exercised since, as stated mentally proactive. Because there is so much confu-
earlier, motivation plays a large part in this area. sion about what that means, both within the market-
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From here we move to the ecologism position at the ing world and the consumer world, a clearly identi-
lower right end of the diagonal representing a full fied concept must be developed and followed. Build-
blown political philosophy as described earlier. Since ing consumer confidence once it is lost is a difficult
this position requires a virtual overthrow of the domi- and expensive task at best, but under conditions of
nant social paradigm, few, if any, advertisements will confusion and deception it is virtually impossible.
be found supporting the position. Major advertisers Marketers must start rebuilding trust by adhering
would view this as virtual economic suicide, and its to more rigid ethical and environmental standards
advocates would see it as so extreme as to be ineffec- within their entire domain, not just advertising. As
tive in promoting their position. These ads would suggested earlier, consumers cannot be deceived in-
promote such things as appropriate technology, vol- definitely by ads touting traditional products as Green.
untary simplicity in consumption, soft energy paths, Marketers must develop Green marketing programs
and trans-industrial existence. The theses of these encompassing the production, consumption, and dis-
ads are that we cannot consume ourselves out of an position dimensions using Iyer and Banerjee's (1993)
over-consumption problem, we cannot techno-fix our framework. Until it is understood that there can be
way out of problems caused by technology, and noth- no Green advertising in a brown marketing mix, no
ing ecologically viable can be sustained without glo- progress will be made, even at the environmentalist,
bal redistribution of wealth. or lowest level of green.
With these scenarios in mind, we can now deter- Fisk (1973) was one ofthe first to recognize the role
mine whether ads can be Green. Based on the forego- of responsible consumption in the environmental
ing analysis, the answer depends on where you stand. framework; and, if Iyer and Banerjee's (1993) results
If individuals' eco-philosophies place them in the up- suggesting that consumption is the least often em-
per left quadrant, an anthropocentric reformist, then phasized factor in green ads are any indication, Fisk
green advertising will be seen as an ecologically use- may have been one of the last as well. Even ecologists
ful addition to the advertiser's arsenal, providing ben- have been slow to recognize the necessity of trans-
efits to the individual consumer and the ecology. If forming the consumption process (Durning 1992).
individuals' philosophies position them in the lower While Fisk (1974) thoroughly assessed the role of
right quadrant, then what others consider to be a more ecologically benign consumption, he fell short
Green ad would be considered an oxymoron. Advocat- by failing to emphasize the necessity for limiting lev-
ing green consumption is advocating more consump- els of consumption. This is the most difficult chal-
tion, more technology, and more economic growth all lenge marketers will face, and it is one of the most
considered anathema to the ecological position. To critical in moving from an environmentalism position
ecologists, the only Green advertising would be pro- to the Greener positions in the framework proposed
moting their socio-political agenda; and the only Green here. From the ecologism position, it would be argued
product is the one that is not produced. that the only truly Green product is the one that is
produced from renewable resources at rates lower
 Summer 1995 17

than the resource's replacement rate for non-frivo- admonition, "... ecological sanctions don't read public-
lous human needs. While such a position is not on the relations releases."
immediate marketing horizon, a commitment to work
in that direction is necessary. Engendering this com- Summary and Conclusion
mitment in both producers and consumers is partly
the task of Greens themselves. Before it can be determined whether green adver-
From the perspective of Greens who proffer their tising exists and is useful in developing ecological
position, the task is commensurately difficult. They awareness, it must be established what green is. The
must recognize that the positions they are most fre- purpose of this paper was to develop a framework
quently advocating are in the lower right corner of within which the greenness of advertising could be
the Figure 1. AB such, they represent an extreme established. An examination of the advertising and
position in the minds of producers and consumers ecology literatures revealed a discrepancy between
steeped in the dominant social paradigm. From an the views of advertisers and those of ecologists. An
understanding of marketing and advertising theory, advertising perspective considers green to be a uni-
they might better position themselves relative to their dimensional concept encapsulating environmental,
targets. While their desires are admirable and essen- ecological, Green, and environmentally oriented be-
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tial, any movement in the direction from green to haviors such as recycling. The ecological literature
Green must be incremental. suggests that this approach is too simplistic since
Any advertising strategy focusing, for example, on ecology is a multi-dimensional concept containing at
extreme fear appeals is generally unsuccessful in ef- least two dimensions: political and positional. Using
fecting enduring attitude change (Janis and Feshbach this framework, five different types of green were
1953; Ray and Wilke 1970). By moving their appeals established each with a different human and political
in the direction of the upper left, environmental quad- agenda. The types, from least to most political and
rant where the majority of consumers and producers human positional were environmentalism,
reside, Greens are more likely to achieve small but conservationism, human welfare ecology,
effective attitude changes. Because the changes nec- preservationism, and ecologism. These range from
essary are both positional (where humans fit in na- green with a little "g" to Green with a big "G." For an
ture) and political (political reform or radical trans- advertisement to be classified as green in any sense,
formation), these are the dimensions that should be it must be placed within the framework. It was also
addressed specifically in Green advertising campaigns. shown that this can be problematic since
Focusing on things far away and uncontrollable in intentionallity plays a part in the decision.
advertising can lead to feelings of helplessness and It appears that green advertising does exist and
hopelessness in consumers. It is ironic indeed that would be considered, even by the ecologist, necessary
the Green aphorism, "Think Globally Act Locally, is n and useful in promoting environmentally-oriented
not followed by Greens in their own approach to ad- consumption behavior. However, only a small first
vertising. This is, after all, what targeting is all about. step has been taken which in no way represents a
Thus, we see that marketers, consumers, and Greens solution to the ecological crisis. The solution requires
can gain a great deal by adopting a consistent frame- addressing the "root causes" of the crisis, and such
work within which to assess and guide their behav- factors as pollution and ozone depletion are symp-
ior. Such a formal framework has been lacking in toms, not causes. While these symptoms can be fatal
both Green and marketing literature. With it comes if left unattended, they will reemerge in the future if
the recognition that the changes necessary will be the root causes are not considered. The only form of
both difficult and slow in coming because they repre- green which addresses the root causes is ecologism
sent, not only a change in behavior, but, in the long requiring political and positional radicalism. The po-
run, a paradigm shift. It is a cultural revolution on a sition extols profound change in the dominant social
global scale that the twenty-first century will require paradigm, and this is change that the power elite
of us. It is the ecological imperative of the next cen- within the industrial system will not embrace. This is
tury and not a whimsical choice of a novel idea. The where environmentalism and ecologism part company,
social power to exacerbate or ameliorate the ecologi- and a compromise seems unlikely because their posi-
cal crisis is immanent in the marketing and advertis- tions represent virtual political and positional an-
ing processes. Those in marketing who persist in pre- titheses. For the time being, it seems, we must con-
tending there is a choice should recall Fisk's (1974) tent ourselves with green advertising and consider it
 18 Journal of Advertising

a necessary, if not critical, firat, step. Goldsmith, Edward, Robert Allen, Michael Allaby, John Davoll,
Unfortunately, even that first step is yet to develop and Sam Lawrence (1972), Blueprint for Survival, Boston:
Houghton Mifflin.
in any meaningful way. Marketers, consumers, and Goldsmith, Edward (1988), "De-industrializing Society," in The
Greens have failed to consider the complex nature of Great U-Turn: De-industrializing Society, Bideford: Green
the crisis confronting them. Consequently, little Books.
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London: Heinemann.
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oping Green values, or by Greens in effectively pre- Protest, Science and Society, J. Shapiro, trans., London:
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part of this problem can be attributed to divergent Hardin, Garrett (1968), "The Tragedy of the Commons: Science,
162 (December), 1243-48.
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