The myth of green marketing : tending our goats at the edge of apocalypse / Toby M. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Toby Maureen, 1947-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Green marketing.

Consumption (Economics)--Environmental aspects.

Consumption (Economics).

Industrialization--Environmental aspects.

Industrialization.

Environmental degradation.

Social responsibility of business.

Physical Description:

187 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1998.

Summary:

Though the world will probably not end in the year 2000, we should not breathe a collective sigh of relief. We are in the midst of a world wide environmental crisis, even though we refuse to believe it or do anything about it.

This book introduces the concept of hegemony into environmental politics. Smith characterizes hegemony as a political theory term that describes the political, economic, and social alliance that sustains our belief in industrial expansionism. The ecological crisis of the late twentieth century presents a challenge to the very foundations of this system. The hegemonic system reacts to a threat to its structure by producing social myths that provide a 'common sense' understanding of the threat. Smith examines one such social myth, the contemporary phenomenon known as green marketing, and how it came to reinforce, rather than challenge, the ethics of productivism. By analyzing green marketing as it relates primarily to the early 1990s corporate campaigns of such companies as McDonalds, Shell Chemicals, and Mobil Oil, Smith demonstrates how these voices weave together an understanding of green consumerism using familiar language from economic and liberal democratic discourses.

This book is an original and important contribution to the field of environmental cultural studies. As the first book on green marketing, it is sure to raise eyebrows with its discussion of the cultural and social aspects of environmental issues that are not usually considered.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0802041752

0802080359

OCLC:

41173963