Ecological Marketing, Green Marketing, Sustainable Marketing: Synonyms оr аn Evolution оf Ideas?

Abstract

The present paper aims to analyze the inception, development and link between the terms eco-marketing, green marketing and sustainable marketing. The research encompasses scientific research papers treating marketing’s influence on the environment, as well as theoretic publications on the topic. The research topic is the evolution of marketing thinking from the point of view of marketing influences on the ecological balance on the earth. This paper is an attempt to prove the assumption that the ecological evolution of marketing has gone through four stages: (1) embryonic stage (pre-1974); (2) ecological marketing (1975-1989); (3) "green" marketing (1990-2000); (4) sustainable marketing (post-2000).