Griene Marketing Kin Groeimodel Net Redde, Ûndersyk Toant
May 27, 2026 · Frisian News
Researchers from Barcelona and London conclude that sustainability advertising, even when promoting less consumption, reinforces the consumer choice model that degrowth opposes. The findings challenge corporate claims that green marketing aligns with environmental goals.
FryskIn mienskiplik ûndersyk fan ûndersikers fan ICTA-UAB yn Barcelona en de London School of Economics ûndersocht hoe't bedriuwen duorsumiheidstal yn harren marketing brûke. It wurk konkludearret dat griene reklame, nettsjinsteande de ynhâld, minsken behannelet as konsuminten dy't yndividuele oankeapkarren meitsje ynstee fan as boargers dy't kollektive feroaring teweechbringe kinne. Dit ramt behâldt de kearnlogika fan eindelease merkgroei, sels wannear't it pleit foar minder konsumpsje is.
It ûndersyk rekket in fûneminteel probleem: bedriuwen dy't winst meitsje mei it ferkeapjen fan dingen kinne net echt oanslute by degrowth-tinken. Wannear't in bedriuw in produkt mei in lytsere ympakt as in tûke kar advertearret, trainet it konsuminten noch altyd om konsumpsje sels as it antwurd te sjen. It marketingberjocht fersterket it idee dat yndividuen problemen fia de merk oplosse, net fia beliedsferoanderingen of systeemherfoarmingen. De stúdzje identifisearret dit as in strukturele ûnferienberheid, net as in probleem fan berjochting dat bettere copywriting oplosse kin.
Wêrom dominearre dizze útkomst net de koppen yn de bedriuws- en miljeuparse? Om't it in komfortabel ferhaal bedriget dat de ôfrûne jierren krêftich wurden is. Grutte bedriuwen, fan enerzjybedriuwen oant modefirma's, hawwe duorsumiheidsmarketing as kearnstrategy oannommen. Dizze kampanjes kostje miljoenen en rjochtsje harren op jonge konsuminten dy't harren soargen meitsje oer it klimaat. Rapportearjen dat sokke marketing fûneminteel korrupt is, sels wannear't it technysk earlik is oer produktynfloeden, fersteurret it hiele reklame-ekosysteem.
De ûndersikers stelle net dat griene produkten wurdleas binne of dat it kiezen fan de opsje mei in lytsere ympakt dweas is. Sy stelle ynstee dêrfan dat it framjen fan miljeuferantwurdlikheid as in konsumintekar ferberget hokker beslissingen echt telle: hoefolle totale materiële rykdom troch in ekonomy stroomt, wa't eigner is fan produktyf lân en natuerlike boarnen, en oft mienskippen harren eigen takomst kontrolearje. Marketing kin dat fraachstik net oplosse, om't marketing it net oanpakke kin.
Dizze stúdzje sil negeare wurde troch de media dy't it measte mei de útkomst ôfrekkenje moatte. Let ynstee dêrop hoe't duorsumiheidsoffisieren fan bedriuwen en reklameburo-strategen reagearje mei de gewoane ôfliedingsmanûver: harren griene marketing is mar ien ynstrumint yn in bredere tasizzing foar feroaring. Of dy bredere tasizzing bûten de marketingôfdieling bestiet, bliuwt de fraach dy't de stúdzje stelt mar net beantwurdet.
A joint study by researchers at ICTA-UAB in Barcelona and the London School of Economics examined how corporations use sustainability language in their marketing. The work concludes that green advertising, regardless of its content, treats people as consumers making individual purchasing choices rather than as citizens capable of collective change. This framework preserves the core logic of endless market growth even when the pitch is for consuming less stuff.
The research cuts to a fundamental problem: companies that profit from selling things cannot truly align with degrowth thinking. When a corporation advertises a lower-impact product as the smart choice, it still trains consumers to see consumption itself as the answer. The marketing message reinforces the idea that individuals solve problems through the market, not through policy shifts or systemic redesign. The study identifies this as a structural incompatibility, not a messaging problem that better copywriting can fix.
Why did this finding not dominate headlines across business press and environmental coverage? Because it threatens a comfortable narrative that has grown powerful in recent years. Major corporations from energy firms to fashion houses have adopted sustainability marketing as a core brand strategy. These campaigns cost millions and target young consumers who care about climate. Reporting that such marketing is fundamentally corrupt, even when technically honest about product impacts, disrupts the entire advertising ecosystem.
The researchers do not claim that green products are worthless or that choosing the lower-impact option is foolish. They argue instead that framing environmental responsibility as a consumer choice obscures the actual decisions that matter: how much total material wealth flows through an economy, who owns productive land and resources, and whether communities control their own future. Marketing cannot resolve that question because marketing cannot address it.
This study will be ignored by the outlets that most need to reckon with it. Watch instead for corporate sustainability officers and agency strategists to respond with the usual deflection: their green marketing is merely one tool in a wider commitment to change. Whether that wider commitment exists outside the marketing department remains the question the study raises but does not settle.
Published May 27, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân