Picture a scene where the women of the household are busy putting finishing touches to the multitude of dishes prepared for lunch while the men and children are seated at the dining table, waiting to be served piping hot food. As they begin lunch, the rotis arrive one after the other since they are meant to be eaten garam garam. As much as one may believe this to be an episode of “Balika Vadhu”, this was in fact a slice of life 10 years ago.

Being Green is yet to get popular consideration by Indian citizens/shoppers. We notice pollution in air, land and water but conveniently dismiss it as an urban planning issue. If day-to-day public life has to change, there is only one industry uniquely positioned to spear-head this – the retail industry – the industry then can connect the public’s preferences to eco-practices/policies of various upstream industries. Retail is the industry where the precious purchase decision happens. And being ‘Green’ could mean good business to retailers!

Driven by changing lifestyles, strong income growth and favourable demographic mix, the Indian retail sector is on the cusp of exponential growth. It is expected to rise to USD 833 billion by 2013; growing further to USD 1.3 trillion by 2018. This would be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent according to a report commissioned by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) and AT Kearny. Consumer spending has risen sharply across segments. The youth population has seen a significant increase in disposable income and a marked shift in spending habits.

There’s an old saying,  "You can lead a horse to water but you can not make it drink.” This is perfect packaging metaphor, because the fundamental truth is that the final purchasing decision is made at the shelf edge in store. Many businesses make the mistake of thinking that advertising and sales promotion is what drives the customer’s decision-making process and, as a result, this is the area that usually commands the greatest amount of deliberation and debate.