CASIRJ Volume 8 Issue 3 [Year - 2017] ISSN 2319 – 9202 International Research Journal of Commerce Arts and Science http://www.casirj.com Page 56 Green Marketing: A tool for sustainable competitive advantage Dr. Purnima Sehgal, Assistant Professor, PG Deptt. Of Commerce, D.A.V. College, Chandigarh, Panjab University, India. purnimasehgal@gmail.com ABSTRACT:In the present day world with alarming levels of environmental deterioration, global warming and pollution, human beings have become one of the most endangered species on this planet! Of late, more and more people are becoming aware of the urgent need for environmental protection and marketers these days are trying to capitalize on the same to ensure sustainable growth by redesigning their strategies. Green marketing is one of such strategies which marketers are using these days as a key strategy for sustainable competitive advantage. A decade back, most of the businesses had the perception that consumers are willing to buy products at best competitive prices and attach no value togreen and eco-friendly products. They felt that the pressure for making business environment green and behaving in a socially responsible manner essentially comesfrom Government and its legislation and consumers have nothing to do with it. But now with a change in consumer perception and their behaviour, the old perception of companies is alsochanging. It is only since 1990s that the researchers have started academically analyzing consumers’ and industry attitude towards green marketing. Most of the studies on green marketing have been done in developed countries but such studies remain conspicuously absent in the context of emerging and developing economies like India. This research is a step to fill up this gap. This paper is a conceptual paper to understand the concept and origin of green marketing. An attempt has been made to study the benefits and challenges and make suggestions for using green marketing to gain sustainable competitive edge. Keywords:Green marketing, competitive edge, sustainable consumption, sustainable development, environment, eco-friendly, green companies. I. INTRODUCTION As today‘s consumers become more conscious of the natural environment, businesses are beginning to modify their own thoughts and behaviour in an attempt to address the concerns of consumers. Green marketing is becoming more important to businesses because of the consumer‘s genuine concerns about our limited resources on the earth. There is now a growing concern that environmental protection is highly necessary. Everyone believes a green life is a better and healthier life for present and future generations. Most consumers‘ spending pattern shows that they have a desire for brands that ‗go green‘. Consumers not only want to buy green products but are also willing to pay a little more for it. They are motivated to buy from companies that are eco-friendly in