Greening retail: an Indian experience

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent of greening retail taking place in Indian context and identifies its core groups of green retail practices.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was developed and used to collect data from retailers of green products, and caselets were developed.

Findings

Nine core groups of green retail practices are identified – distinctness of green products, promoting sustainable business practices, use of environmental keywords, promotion for awareness, promotional offers for sale, ensuring availability and visibility of green products, approval for environmental claims, environmentally friendly appeal of store and consumer involvement approaches.

Research limitations/implications

Findings of the study should be generalised with its limitations; though are useful in understanding greening retail concept.

Originality/value

This paper is original in terms of its value addition to the green marketing literature and extends the concept of sustainability to retailing.

Citation

Kumar, P. (2014), "Greening retail: an Indian experience", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 42 No. 7, pp. 613-625. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-02-2013-0042