Study On H&M's Green Marketing Strategies Under The Background Of Ecological Civilization

Since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century,people have achieved unprecedentd fortunes because of rapid economic development.However,some severe environmental crisis has come along at the same time.The construction of ecological environment is taken as an inevitable trend to deal with these disastrous effects that have been brought about by the Industrial Revolution.Since the 17th CPC National Congress was held in 2007,the Chinese government has extraordinarily valued the importance of the construction of ecological civilization,demanding that the construction of ecological civilization should be taken as the fundamental principle for sustainable development and ecological economy,recycling economy and low-carbon economy should be encouraged in economic development.Enterprises are the main force in economy,in which they are basically relied on for sustainable development.Therefore,it is of great significance to study the green marketing strategies performed by well-known enterprises abroad and home.By means of detailed analysis of H&M's green marketing strategies,this thesis has interpreted the tremendous effects that green marketing strategies have brought about on enterprises,consumers and society,and come up with some relative suggestions for domestic companies as the result of experiences that have been summerized from the research process.H&M,the leading apparel retailer around the world has kept increasing revenues steadily,even in economic depression.Recently,it has also expanded market to China and seized Chinese market rapidly.The reason for H&M's leading role in apparel industry lies in its principles of sustainable development,which means that this company ensures more ecological product design,greener production and more sustainable production chain.H&M has carried out 'World Recycle Week',old clothes recycling project since 2013.Besides,it is the first apparel company to use organic cotton as production materials.Therefore,it is very significant to study this company's success in promoting green marketing.Compared with foreign countries,green marketing development in China started later.Since 1993,China has began to promote and manage Green Food Logo and strict green food standards have been attached to 30 kinds of food,while more than 3000 kinds of food in Germany have been labeled with Green Food logo.Domestic study on green marketing started at the end of the 20th century.Although Chinese researchers focus a lot on green marketing,subjects are limited in food industry,real estate business,Walmart and IKEA.There is few people paying attention to green marketing in fashion industry.In terms of its strong awareness of green marketing and sustainable development,H&M is studied as a special case in this thesis.H&M's green marketing strategies will be specifically analyzed,including product strategy,price strategy,place strategy and promotion strategy respectively,based on marketing mix theory and ecological civilization connotation.This research is carried out with the help of the case study,exploring green marketing based on marketing mix theories.This thesis is divided into six chapters.The first chapter introduces this research's background,significance and structure in details.The second chapter is made up of two parts.The first part is related to previous studies on ecological civilization.The second part dates back to green marketing development history.Through this data collection,it helps learn ecological civilization and green marketing deeply.The third chapter explains theoretical framework,marketing mix theory,4Ps,including product strategy,place strategy,price strategy and promotion strategy.The fourth chapter analyzes H&M's marketing strategies based on 4Ps.In terms of product strategy,H&M focuses on developing green products with green designs,including using renewable materials.H&M adopts cleaner production methods during production process.In addition,it carries out activities to collect old clothes.In terms of place strategy,H&M continuously perfects its green supply chain system to improve work efficiency.It also sets up strict standards for its suppliers to ensure that partners own green awareness.Meanwhile,H&M actively develops new green channels,such as establishing its own online store,reducing resources consumption and achieving sustainable goals.In terms of price strategy,H&M sets up high prices for "Conscious Exclusive" products,which are H&M's green products with unique designs,limited quantities and environmental costs,while it sets up moderate prices for "Conscious"products,and it lowwers prices for "Conscious" products at the ending of a season.In terms of promotion strategy,H&M carries out advertising to promote its green products and environmental activities.Besides,H&M joins lots of organizations,foundations and different kinds of environmental activities to improve global sustainability.In addition,through detailed analysis on H&M,it can be found that with the help of carrying out green marketing strategies,this company has promoted green apparel products widely,shaped green image in the industry,reduced emission,and saved energy successfully.Thus,it is proved that an enterprise can have positive influence on customers,enterprises,and society through focusing on green marketing.The fifth chapter discusses problems when domestic companies carry out green marketing.Domestic apparel companies have had green marketing awareness,but there are many problems holding back green marketing development in China.It is concluded through this research in three points:first,there has been less demands for green products;second,domestic companies do not have enough knowledge on green marketing strategies,so they do not find suitable green marketing strategies for themselves;third,these enterprises lack advanced supply management technologies and comprehensive talents.Under the background of depressed green marketing situation in domestic market,H&M's case study can offer valuable suggestions to counterparts in China,including producing green products,standing out green designs,setting up appropriate prices,creating green channels,innovating green promotion methods,making efforts with the government,taking part in environmental activities and so on,with which it can enhance green marketing awareness for Chinese apparel companies and help them pay attention to problems while using green marketing strategies.The last chapter discusses this study's findings and limitations.Through this study,it can be found that it is effective for enterprises to carry out green marketing strategies,which can make great social improvement.But there are also some limitations in this study.The theoretical support used in this study is simple,so it is better to study green marketing from different perspectives in later research.