GREEN MARKETING: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Prof. Tushar K. Savale Prof. Anil F. Sharma Prof. Prabodhan U. Patil Faculty SITRC Faculty SITRC Faculty SITRC Mahiravani, Nashik Mahiravani, Nashik Mahiravani, Nashik tushar.savale@sitrc.org anil.sharma@sitrc.org prabodhan.patil@sitrc.org 9730113355 9860495456 9923353962 ABSTRACT: People buy billions of dollars worth of goods and services every year many which harm the environment in how they are harvested, made, or used. Environmentalists support green marketing to encourage people to use environmentally preferable alternatives, and to offer incentives to manufacturers that develop more environmentally beneficial products. World-wide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior accordingly. As a result there is a growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. The types of businesses that exist, the products they produce and their approaches to marketing are changing. People generally want to do the right thing, so the challenge and opportunity for the green marketer is to make it easy for people to do so. When all else is equal – quality, price, performance and availability – environmental benefit will most likely tip the balance in favor of a product. The marketing industry can ‘walk the talk’ and become the new corporate champions of the environment. Successful green marketers will reap the rewards of healthy profits and improved shareholder value, as well as help make the world a better place in the future. The concept of green marketing has been around at least since the first Earth Day in 1970. But the idea did not catch on until the 1980s, when rising public interest in the environment led to a demand for more green products and services. Manufacturers responded to public interest by labeling hundreds of new products "environmentally friendly"—making claims that products were biodegradable, compostable, energy efficient, or the like. Key Words: - Green Product, Recyclable, Environmentally safe, Eco Friendly. INTRODUCTION: In older days the environmental problems seem to concern all active citizens, enterprises and institutions all over the world much more than thirty years ago. International researches show that the consumers worry more about the environment and change gradually their behavior (Arbuthnot, 1977; Simon, 1992; Diamantopoulos et al., 2003). The term "Green marketing" refers to the planning, development and promotion of products or services that satisfy the needs of consumers for quality, output,