Advertising, Marketing, and the Destruction of the Environment - Essay Example

ADVERTISING, MARKETING, AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT by 30 August Advertising, Marketing, and the Destruction of the Environment Introduction The growing pace of the environmental pollution has already become the distinctive feature of the postmodern reality. The continuous increase in personal consumption levels is fairly regarded as one of the critical factors of the current environmental crisis. Marketing and advertising contribute significantly to the development of the basic consumption patterns; as a result, the significance of the relationship between marketing/ advertising and environmental pollution is difficult to underestimate. More often than not, marketing and advertising are believed to be the most significant contributors to global environmental destruction this century. Objectively, advertising and marketing do play their role in creating new environmental complexities; however, the growing environmental awareness and the new “green” mentality have a potential to turn advertising and marketing into the effective drivers of sustainable development and growth on the planet. The growing pace of the environmental pollution has already turned into the distinctive feature of the postmodern reality. The pace of the climate change is “accelerating more rapidly than had been predicted” (Lowy 2010). Rising temperatures and accumulating carbon dioxide, melting of the Arctic ices and regular fires/ floods are speeding up and making all previous scientific analyses even less optimistic (Lowy 2010). Advertising and marketing are often believed to be the most significant contributors to the environmental destruction this century. Objectively, the effects of marketing and advertising on the environment are difficult to underestimate. Lowy (2010) is correct in that “advertising pollutes the mental, just like the urban and rural, landscape; it stuffs the skull like it stuffs the mailbox”. Advertising and marketing result in the growing commodification of the world and the natural resources it has at its disposal. By turning natural resources into the basic commodities, advertising and marketing make individuals sacrifice the basic principles of environmental protection. Advertising as the key element of the capitalistic evolution results in the so-called fetishization of consumption, which turns the accumulation of goods and consumerism into the basic goals of human existence (Lowy 2010). For the purpose of increased profit margins and stronger competitive position, corporations and individual manufacturers are willing to destroy the environment. It would be fair to say that advertising is a fraudulent waste of available environmental resources – several dozens of billions dollars are being spent annually to support global advertising campaigns, instead of spending this money to build hospitals and schools and to reduce the scope of poverty on the planet (Lowy 2010). However, the unwise use of environmental resources is not the only issue with advertising. Advertising and marketing result in the continuous expansion of various consumption patterns, turning the global society into a society of consumers. The direct relationship between “advertising and the growing consumption levels has been long recognized by environmental researchers” (Ordway 1953). In 1971, Erlich and Holdren developed an IPAT model, aimed to measure the relationship between consumption and environmental impacts; here, advertising is the basic driver of the growing consumption levels and, as a result, the major source of the negative environmental effects. “Increased exposure to advertising messages socializes individuals to satisfaction of needs and desires through market provided commodities” (Brulle & Young 2007). Advertising and marketing lead to an increased dependency on commodities and the desire to use commodities as the answer to the most sophisticated individual needs (Brulle & Young 2007). Advertising turns consumption into something greater than the simple pursuit of routine pleasures, making consumption a matter of social prestige and the critical component of the personality and the self (Brulle & Young 2007). In this situation, individuals will hardly think of the effects, which their commodity activities and decisions produce on the environment. Mass consumption, on the one hand, drives the levels of commercial manufacturing and the amount of industrial by-products in the environment and, on the other hand, increases the amount of waste in the atmosphere and makes it difficult for the global population to stop the accelerating pace of the environmental destruction. It should be noted, however, that the things are not as bad as they seem. Today, more and more individuals and corporations seek to develop sustainable strategies and contribute to the expansion of the global environmental awareness. Here, marketing and advertising have a potential to become effective drivers of the global sustainable mentality. First of all, advertising and marketing could work to create and maintain the so-called “green consumer segment”. Carlson (1995) writes that marketing and advertising of green products and “green” attitudes among consumers will raise the global environmental awareness, increase the number of those who purchase these products and, ultimately, make sustainable environmental initiatives profitable for individuals and corporations. Also, advertising and marketing could become the two reliable sources of information about the environmental impact of various products and services (OECD 2007). The development of strict legislative solutions will help to ensure the reliability and accuracy of environmental claims in advertisements and marketing campaigns. Whether the global population can successfully utilize available resources in ways that do not harm the environment depends on how well advertising and marketing serve the “green” needs of people. As of today, advertising and environment remain the sources of the major environmental concerns but can also become the two reliable drivers of ecological sustainability in the world. Conclusion Advertising and marketing are believed to be the most significant contributors to the destruction of the environment this century. Advertising and marketing lead to the commodification of the global reality; as a result, individuals and corporations are willing to sacrifice the basic principles of the environmental protection for the sake of increased profit margins. Advertising and marketing result in the continuous expansion of the consumption patterns which, consequentially, increase the amount of industrial and commercial waste in the environment. Despite the numerous destructive effects, advertising and marketing have a potential to become the effective drivers of sustainable evolution on the planet. Marketing and environment can drive the development of “green” attitudes toward the environment and make ecological sustainability profitable and effective. References Brulle, RJ & Young, LE 2007, ‘Advertising, individual consumption levels, and the natural environment, 1900-2000’, Sociological Inquiry, vol.77, no.4, pp522-542. Carlson, L 1995, ‘Green advertising and the reluctant consumer’, Journal of Advertising, June 22, accessed online, http://www.allbusiness.com/management/consumer-demand-management/513049-1.html Ehrlich, PR & Holdren, JP 1971, ‘Impact of population growth’, Science, vol.171, pp1212- 1217. Lowy, M 2010, ‘Advertising is a ‘serious health threat’ – to the environment’, Monthly Review, January, accessed online, http://monthlyreview.org/100101lowy.php OECD 2007, Special issue on sustainable development, OECD Publishing. Ordway, SH 1953, Resources and the American Dream, New York: Ronald Press Company. Read More