The concept of green marketing, which emerged with the aim of minimizing the negative effects on the physical environment while meeting the demands and needs of the consumers, has become an understanding that gains importance every day with the awareness of the consumer about the environment.
Today, green marketing shows itself as the name of turning to the needs of the new customer group that has increased environmental awareness (Kaya, 2010: 156).
In its most general terms, green marketing has been expressed as “a group of activities that have been created in a way that will cause minimal harm to the natural environment in order to create and easily implement changes that will satisfy the needs and demands of the society” (Uydacı, 2002: 84).
When we look at the development process of green marketing, it is seen that there are three stages. The first stage is ecological marketing, which seeks to reduce dependence on harmful products; the second stage is environmental marketing, which seeks to reduce environmental damage, and the third stage is sustainable marketing, which tries to meet the production and consumption costs in order to create a sustainable economic order (Gedik, Kurutkan, & Çil, 2014: 2).
It is possible to summarize the aims of green marketing as follows (Uydacı, 2002: 112):
-The best use of finite natural resources rather than creating new consumption areas,
– Working to ensure and protect the natural balance instead of producing disposable products,
– Finding alternatives that will prevent the destruction of the environment and reduce the environmental pollution created by the industry,
– Encouraging the use of environmentally friendly products and trying to create recycling awareness in the society by minimizing the packaging process,
It is the mobilization of consumers, the state and voluntary organizations together.
The Circular Economy model provides various benefits such as reducing the cost of obsolescence and increasing the secondary benefits obtained from the product through activities such as recycling, reuse and waste reduction. On the other hand, it is possible to state that green marketing activities can contribute to the Circular Economy model with the activities to be carried out in accordance with the wishes and needs of the consumers regarding green products, and to encourage consumer demand in this regard.
The green marketing approach is a marketing approach that creates a competitive advantage for businesses by meeting the demands and needs of consumers by presenting products and services that do not harm the health of individuals in accordance with the understanding of sustainability.
As a result, natural resources are being depleted rapidly and the size of environmental pollution is increasing day by day. Considering the economic and environmental objectives of the Circular Economy model, it is likely to encounter various difficulties, especially in the implementation process of the model from a holistic perspective. At this point, it is thought that green marketing practices will make an important contribution to the Circular Economy targets in consumer and business dimensions.
