44 Devleena Ghosh and Amit JainAdditionally, the Re: Thinking Consumption study by BBMG and others
identified “aspirationals” as a category of “style and social status seeking”
consumers in India who wanted to purchase brand-name products that “improve
their own lives (through function and status) and improve society more broadly”
(BBMG, GlobeScan, and SustainAbility 2012). These “aspirationals” account for
42 per cent of consumers in India and are more than twice as likely than consumers
in developed countries to buy products because of social or environmental benefits
(BBMG, GlobeScan, and SustainAbility 2012; Hawkins 2015, p. 6).
Indian businesses have responded to this growing niche market in many ways.
Godrej Consumer Products gives incentives to buyers to exchange their old
products for environmentally friendly ones. For example, the advertisement for
the Godrej air conditioner emphasizes its energy efficiency—“India’s most energy-
efficient; less power than a hair dryer” (Godrej Appliances 2012). NDTV, a major
media group, promotes green values through its campaign Greenathon, organizing
various philanthropic and social activities to raise environmental awareness as
well as contribute to developmental causes such as the electrification of rural areas
(NDTV 2012). Many companies are now offering more eco-friendly alternatives
for their customers; recycled products, paper, or cloth rather than plastic bags. Titan,
Tanishq, and Fab India both have a corporate policy of using only carry bags made
of recycled material. The NDTV Greenathon campaign mentioned above begins
its television spot with the words “Today we declare a war on plastic” (NDTV
2012). Idea Cellular Limited, a mobile phone company, launched a campaign titled
“Use Mobile Save Paper”, urging their consumers to replace paper documents with
mobile apps (Idea Cellular Limited 2013). Kansai Nerolac Paints emphasizes the
fact that their paint is lead-free (“Do you know that paint with lead can damage
your nervous system?”) in their advertising in India (Nerolac Paints India 2012).
Dell Computers in India now come in eco-friendly bamboo packaging bundled
with a system-recycling kit. They offer special discounts toward the purchase of
a new Dell system to consumers who send in their old systems for free recycling.
Dell also initiated a ‘Dell Go Green Challenge’ to raise awareness and community
involvement in green initiatives in India. This challenge invited users to share
photographs, videos, and other innovative depictions of key issues, concerns, or
thoughts on green technology at http://www.dellgogreen.com (The Indian Express 2010).Table 3.3 Awareness about green initiatives taken by various government and non-
government entities
Entity Percentage of people who know about the initiatives
taken by various government and non-government entities
Ministry of Environment 38.7
State Government 35.8
NGOs 31.1
Large Business of India 23.8
Small Business of India 12.3
Others 3.8