Fifty Shades of Green

Sammanfattning: The current green marketing industry is growing due to increasing consumer demand in combination with current environmental issues. Even so a common definition of the term green does not exist which creates both company and consumer confusion. Generally the expression is perceived by consumers to only describe environmentally friendly products but it is also further applied to different activities such as production, distribution and retailing. Due to the consumer lack of knowledge companies are having continuous difficulties satisfying the consumer’s changing needs and simultaneously protecting the environment. Companies are hoping to create awareness regarding environmental issues with the use of green marketing; however some companies are claiming to be green as a concealed marketing ploy, known as greenwashing.This study’s purpose aims to reveal and analyze whether there are gaps of knowledge in the topic green products and predominantly green cosmetics between Swedish green consumers and green companies. Lush Cosmetics has been chosen as a case company for this dissertations explorative kind and the empirical findings have been collected by a semi-structured interview with a product & people developer at the company. Answers from green consumers have been retrieved through focus group meetings with suitable respondents.Analysis of the empirical information was subsequently completed through the study’s theoretical framework to find what types of dissents exist between the two parts and why these have been generated. Results of the analysis showed that confusion as well as different opinions is present between the two parts. The knowledge gaps are prominent between the company and the consumers in the subjects of understanding marketing terms, price, ingredients and efficiency.