Green growth or green management practices originatingfrom advanced countries proliferated worldwide during the2000s. According to the Low Carbon, Green Growth Act announcedby the government of South Korea in April 2010,business should gradually adopt an environmental managementsystem (EMS) to efficiently use resources and energy and tominimize the emission of greenhouse gas or other pollutants asa result of business activities. In addition, businesses shouldacknowledge social and ethical responsibilities. Environmentalmanagement systems were introduced in Korea as a competitivestrategy in the early 1990s, and have increased inKorea since 2003 under the influence of the product-relatedenvironmental regulations of European countries and theKorean government. Achieving the ISO 14001 standard requiresan EMS system. This critical and authoritative certificationsystem, legislated in 1996, directly connects to businessreliability. The number of corporations with the ISO 14001certification continues to increase, with over 223,000 casesworldwide in 2009 and a 300 percent increase internationallysince 2005. Korea, with sixth largest number of certifications,had 7,843 certified corporations in 2009 (ICIN, 2010).
Green management systems seem to be a requirement forcompetitive differentiation in the fashion industry. In the fashionmarket, environment-conscious designers and fashion brandsall over the world have produced environmentally friendlyfashions by using organic materials, recycled materials, orgreen designs, appealing to consumers. The fashion market hascontinued to grow in size by launching typical organic linesand eco-friendly brands. A similar tendency for green marketingstrategies can be found in Korea. A significant number ofKorean national brands produce clothes with organic cotton;well-being materials, such as charcoal, corn, or bamboo; andrecycled textiles. In addition, several brands have promoted environmentalcampaigns and have contributed a certain portionof profits to environment-related organizations (Dong, 2010).
Recently, fashion brands have extended green practices to obtainofficial eco-labels or to adopt environmental managementsystems. This study investigates the environmental management systemof a specific fashion corporation and analyzes green marketingstrategies with respect to the elements of an EMS. Wecollected data from articles, journals, the brand website, andinterviews conducted in 2009. For the study, we selected theKolon Group as a leading example of an eco-friendly organizationamong domestic companies. Among fourteen subsidiarycompanies, six, including the Kolon Industry, obtained ISO14001 certifications. The first Kolon fashion brand wasKOLON SPORT in 1973, and three sportswear brands werelaunched in 1980s. After taking over the Cambridge divisionin 2007 and merging with Cambridge Kolon in 2009, KolonIndustry changed its name to ‘Kolon Industry and CambridgeKolon’, which included 28 popular fashion brands. The company’sfashion brands were divided into five categories: outdoor,sports & golf (5 brands), men’s wear (10 brands), women’swear (2 brands), casual wear (2 brands) and others (3shoes & 6 premium brands).
The Kolon fashion division announced their business visionas “Eco Fashion Innovator” after FnC Kolon obtained ISO14001 certification in June 2008 (Kang, 2009b), consideringthe environment as a core value for competitive strength.
Kolon practices environment-conscious activities, from textiledevelopment to visual merchandising in retail locations (Jung,2008). Kolon Industry and Cambridge Kolon also useeco-friendly goods production, socially responsible promotion,and a recycled packaging system.
Except shoes and premium brand categories, typical fashionbrands are actively participating in distinct green marketingpractices and strategies. First, organic cotton goods producedthrough environmentally friendly processes are the most commongreen product strategy across brands, except golf wear.
Second, the use of eco-friendly and biodegradable ingredients,such as bamboo, bean, charcoal, corn, or volcanic ash, is anotherstrategy. Third, brands have used recycled PET(Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles that decrease greenhousegases. Fourth, brands have produced energy-effective products,named ‘Cool Biz’ or ‘Warm Biz’, which can be classified aseco-friendly products. Fifth, brands have used natural dyeingproducts, such as polygonum indigo, charcoal, and pomegranate,as an eco-friendly strategy. In addition, “trashion”, a portmanteauword of trash and fashion, can be found in a casualbrand, ‘series.’ Finally, specific items, such as t-shirts or bags,deliver environmental messages as a communication tool.
Outdoor sports brands seem to practice eco-friendly productstrategies most actively. Sports brands have used organic cottonand the recycled PET bottles items, and men’s wear in cluded items with biodegradable ingredients as well as temperature-controlled suits.
With respect to communication, the Kolon Group implementeddiverse marketing communication strategies. For example,in 2010, Kolon made a three-year agreement with theJoin Together Society NGO to donate 2- to 3-year-old productsin stock to third-world countries, amounting to five hundredmillion worth of stock each year. Outdoor sportswearbrands practice green management the most thoroughly, whereasother brand categories apply green management to limitedareas. Women’s wear and casual wear usually engage in customerparticipation events.
To maintain customers and to thrive in the ever-criticalglobal market, it is time to take part in environmental businesspractices. To survive in the competitive market, it is imperativeto establish a systematic tool to improve environmentalperformance and reduce the long-term environmental impacts ofproducts, services, retailers, suppliers, and employees. Futuregreen branding strategy should be responsible from social, ethical,and environmental perspectives.
The Effects of Zara to the SMEs of an Emerging Market ZARA
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