APPROACHES OF DIFFERENT THEORIES USED IN GREEN MARKETING LITERATURE TO MARKETING ETHICS: A COMPARISON IN THE CONTEXT OF CURRENT DEBATES

Öz

The concepts of green consumption, green production, and green marketing have been discussed in both daily life and academic circles since the second half of the 20th century. Undoubtedly, this situation stems from rapid industrialization and the rise in environmental problems during the same period. This period also witnessed the emergence of environmental awareness. Over the past fifty years, environmental issues have been discussed conceptually around the axis of sustainability. Marketing's response to these challenges was the emergence of green (eco-environmental) marketing. However, green marketing activities, which were put forward with the aim of creating sustainable consumption, have sparked many debates from the very beginning. While some of these discussions are reflections of existing marketing-related debates such as causing waste, shopping addiction and over-consumption; some are specific to environmental marketing activities such as “greenwashing”, “green hushing” and “green purchasing behavior gap”." Social science theories have engaged extensively with these ethical debates. While theorists and their followers have sometimes directly studied green marketing ethics, sometimes it is possible to reach a conclusion by combining the environmental and marketing implications of theories. This study examines the approaches of a number of theories, from classical economic theories to Marxism, from Feminism to the Theory of Planned Behavior, to green consumption and marketing. Consumer ethics issues, dating back to the writings of Aristotle, are tried to be understood through frequently modern perspectives and methods. The article's ultimate goal is to utilize the insights of social science theories from past to present to understand and address current ethical debates that significantly slow down the development of green marketing.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Ethics
• Green Consumption
• Green Marketing
• Sustainable Marketing
• Social Marketing
• Green Gap

YEŞİL PAZARLAMA LİTERATÜRÜNDE KULLANILAN FARKLI KURAMLARIN PAZARLAMA ETİĞİNE YAKLAŞIMI: GÜNCEL TARTIŞMALAR EKSENİNDE BİR KARŞILAŞTIRMA

Öz

Yeşil tüketim, yeşil üretim ve yeşil pazarlama kavramları 20. yüzyılın ikinci yarısından itibaren hem günlük hayatta hem de akademik çevrelerde tartışılmaya başlanan kavramlardır. Şüphesiz bunda endüstrileşmenin hız kazanmasının ve çevresel sorunların baş edilemez şekilde derinleşmesinin de aynı döneme denk geliyor olmasının payı büyüktür. Bu dönem aynı zamanda çevre bilincinin de ortaya çıktığı dönemdir. Geride bıraktığımız elli yıllık süreçte çevre konuları kavramsal olarak sürdürülebilirlik bağlamında tartışılagelmiştir. Pazarlamanın çevresel sorunlara verdiği reaksiyon yeşil (eko-çevresel) pazarlamanın doğuşu şeklinde olmuştur. Ancak sürdürülebilir bir tüketim yaratma hedefiyle ortaya konulan yeşil pazarlama faaliyetleri, ilk andan itibaren pek çok tartışmanın odağı olmuştur. Bu tartışmaların bir kısmı israfa, alışveriş bağımlılığına ve aşırı tüketime neden olmak gibi öteden beri pazarlamaya yöneltilen suçlamaların yeşil pazarlamaya yansımasıyken; bazıları da “yeşil aklama”, “yeşil suskunluk” ve “yeşil davranış çelişkisi” gibi doğrudan yeşil pazarlama faaliyetlerine özgüdür. Çoğunluğu etik kaynaklı bu tartışmalara klasik kuramlardan günümüzde geliştirilen teorilere kadar bir çok teori değinmektedir. Teorisyenler ve takipçileri bazen yeşil pazarlama etiğine doğrudan değinmişlerken, teorilerin çevreye ve pazarlamaya yönelik çıkarımlarının birleştirilmesi veya karşılaştırılmasıyla da sonuca ulaşmak mümkündür. Bu çalışma yeşil pazarlama etiğiyle ilişkili unsurlar olan üretim, tüketim ve tüketici davranışı bağlamında sıkça atıfta bulunulan kuramları ele almaktadır. Geçmişi Aristo’nun metinlerine kadar uzanan tüketim etiği tartışmaları kadim tartışmalar olsa da günümüzde sadece modern bakış açısıyla anlaşılmaya çalışılmaktadır. Bu eksikliği aşmak adına makalenin nihai hedefi, yeşil pazarlamanın gelişimini önemli ölçüde yavaşlatan güncel etik tartışmaların anlaşılmasında ve buna çözümler getirilmesinde pazarlama alanında sıkça başvurulan bazı teorilerin geçmişten bugüne yaptıkları tespitlerden ve bu çok yönlü birikimden yararlanmaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Etik
• Yeşil Tüketim
• Yeşil Pazarlama
• Sosyal Pazarlama
• Sürdürülebilir pazarlama
• Yeşil Aklama
• Yeşil Suskunluk
• Yeşil Çelişki

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