Green marketing a greenwashing v komunikaci retailových firem

A marketing strategy that emphasizes environmental protection is called green marketing. The use of this strategy by retail companies in the Czech Republic is becoming more common, but so is the occurrence of greenwashing. Greenwashing is caused by misinformation, which companies try to use to create a misleading environmental image. The theoretical part of this bachelor thesis is focused on available literature about these two phenomena. The first part of the practical section contains an analysis of green marketing and greenwashing of nine retail companies, namely Lidl, Kaufland, Albert, Penny Market, Tesco, Billa, Globus, Košík.cz, and Rohlik.cz. The international aspect, which includes the analysis of these companies in their home countries, is incorporated into the thesis. It was found that these phenomena are used more frequently in the Czech Republic than in the companies' home countries. However, this strategy is not the main strategy used by companies, which is justified by the current high inflation rate that has affected customers' interest in the environment. The second part of the practical section evaluates a self-conducted survey that monitored the attitudes of the Czech Republic's residents towards the environment, how it reflects in their shopping behavior, and their knowledge of the terms green marketing and greenwashing. Based on this data, it was possible to identify the target audience for the marketing strategy using green marketing. This group is people aged from 25 to 44, who come not from households with low incomes and are environmentally conscious. The ideal communication channels are websites or social media.