A Critical Literature Review: Sustainable Marketing by Zara

SUSTAINABLE MARKETING BY ZARA
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Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u ‘Sustainable Marketing by Zara’ PAGEREF _Toc76842010 \h 21.Literature Review of Sustainability Marketing PAGEREF _Toc76842011 \h 21.1 Introduction to Sustainability in Businesses PAGEREF _Toc76842012 \h 21.2 Meaning of Sustainable Marketing PAGEREF _Toc76842013 \h 31.3 Integration of Sustainable Marketing with Marketing Mix PAGEREF _Toc76842014 \h 32.Analysis of Sustainability Marketing of ZARA PAGEREF _Toc76842015 \h 52.1 Introduction to the Brand and Products PAGEREF _Toc76842016 \h 52.2 Relevance of Green Marketing for ZARA PAGEREF _Toc76842017 \h 52.3 ZARA’s Approach to Sustainability Marketing PAGEREF _Toc76842018 \h 63.Recommendations to ZARA PAGEREF _Toc76842019 \h 8Reference List PAGEREF _Toc76842020 \h 10
Sustainable Marketing by Zara
1 Literature Review of Sustainability Marketing
1.1 Introduction to Sustainability in Businesses
Sustainability means a development that leads to sources, materials, and processes that satisfy societies' current and future needs (Kemper & Ballantine, 2019). In literature, the subject of "sustainability" has gained importance due to the rise in the global population and the subsequent number of challenges and issues faced by societies. The main challenges and issues include resource conservation, the environmental impact caused by business processes, and the social impact of each business. Each business uses some sources for the materials that it requires. These can be places where ingredients are produced or the suppliers. In either case, sourcing determines the sustainability intention of any company (Lim, 2016). Each sustainable business aims to have a minimum negative impact on the environment. Hence, sourcing shows how well a company takes on sustainability and whether or not the environmental impact of using the particular sources is considered.
Social impact is another factor in sustainability, explained in terms of a business's relationship and dealing with the people. If a business works for the well-being of the people and employees, it is attributed as a sustainable business. The argument taken by the literature is that businesses are requiring some form of "social licensing" to operate peacefully without any unnecessary challenges. A social license is like permission given by the people to the business to operate in a certain way, using specific natural resources (Villarino & Font, 2015). However, this permission, especially in the modern world, is getting challenged due to the rise in public awareness about the planet's deteriorating climate.
Corporate governance is also a part of sustainability practices that companies need to adopt. Corporate governance includes the company's ownership, board's size and structure, diversity, and the various rules and processes used by the board members to direct and manage the company. Governance is a critical element in realizing the sustainability targets and showing off the good values of the company (Thomas, 2018).
1.2 Meaning of Sustainable Marketing
Marketing is typically viewed as a set of activities that enable a company to sell more products. However, the literature argues the best ways to do so. For example, some argue about increasing the budgets, while others discuss the role of multiple channels for marketing. However, the sustainability literature focuses on building good relationships with suppliers, customers, and governments to achieve better sales (Pantelic et al., 2016). In addition, it can be debated that sustainable marketing needs more time than conventional marketing to show the results (Kemper & Ballantine, 2019). However, since these are sustainable methods, businesses that adopt these are always looking forward to gaining a competitive advantage moving forward in the twenty-first century (Baldassarre and Campo, 2016; Peattie, 2016).
1.3 Integration of Sustainable Marketing with Marketing Mix
Marketing mix means the product, price, place, and promotion used by businesses to draw value. Each component of this mix has implications for sustainable marketing, which takes the approach beyond the conventional. Companies use marketing mix strategies to achieve a competitive advantage, increase profit margins, achieve better acceptability and sales of their products, and promote their products and services efficiently (Noo-urai & Jaroenwisan, 2016).
Product is the first focal element of sustainable marketing. Each product has three dimensions that include sourcing, ingredients, and manufacturing process. Sustainability literature has defined a sustainable product as the "one that can be produced repeatedly with minimal ecological impact" (Rakic & Rakic, 2015). Hence, sustainable brands focus on these three dimensions to fulfill this criterion of a sustainable product.
Prices for "green products" are generally higher due to the costs of raw materials and manufacturing. Therefore, marketers have to be aware of how they communicate and set the rationale for their prices. Different brands use different tactics to sell green products, such as labeling and communicating green practices on the packaging (Peattie, 2016). In this way, these brands tend to avoid the "green pricing gap" (used to describe the difference in producing the same product, using the conventional methods and the green methods) (Pantelic et al., 2016).
The place occupies a critical position in sustainable marketing. It is so from several angles, not least in terms of people's concern, awareness, and desirability for green products. It is a fact that green products and green pricing are more practical solutions in some societies (UK, Scandinavia) than others (Asia Pacific). The reasons can be the availability of green sources and materials and the presence or absence of necessary education on the subject (Grubor & Milovanov, 2017). The other angle to analyze place is through the location of business suppliers. Sustainability literature suggests choosing local suppliers, as the approach enables the growth of the local economy and local adoption of better practices. Hence, it creates a compounding effect in the local scenario over time, which green brands can exploit as they lead the latecomers in technology and innovation (Foerstl et al., 2015).
Promotional budgets differ across businesses and are determined by the business's financial goals, competition, products, costs of marketing channels, and overall attitudes of the board members towards marketing and competition (Pantelic et al., 2016). Promotions can be made sustainable if businesses spend less and use means that do not cause any negative impact on the environment (Peattie, 2016). For example, by avoiding excessive use of paper for advertisements, businesses employ sustainability.
2 Analysis of Sustainability Marketing of ZARA
2.1 Introduction to the Brand and Products
ZARA is an apparel company based in Galicia, Spain. It is part of the world's largest clothing retail group, Inditex. The company is the largest on the list of brands managed by the group. ZARA deals in fast-fashion products and has produces, displays, and sells multiple clothing collections per year. The different categories of products sold by the brand include formal and informal clothing, accessories, shoes, perfumes, beauty products, and swimwear. The company operates 2250 ...