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To boldly go…exploring ethical spaces to re‐politicise ethical consumption and fair trade
Author(s) -
Low William,
Davenport Eileen
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of consumer behaviour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.811
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1479-1838
pISSN - 1472-0817
DOI - 10.1002/cb.226
Subject(s) - consumption (sociology) , fair trade , politics , sociology , ethical issues , law , political science , social science , engineering ethics , engineering
This paper examines the modern iterations of ethical consumption which, we argue, are dominated by a highly individualised form, ‘shopping for a better world’, and marginalises the more overtly politicised and collective approach. This dissociative transformation of ethical consumption is illustrated through the case example of the fair‐trade movement. We explore two related literatures, geography and politics, to suggest that the (re‐)creation of ethical spaces hold great promise for expanding sales, shortening the distance between producer and consumer and reinvigorating the message of reforming and transforming international trade relations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.