A one-day seminar at the University of Exeter, 1^st October 2009

Ethical consumption has been endorsed early on by academic critics of consumer culture. It was – and to an extent still is – seen as an alternative to de-politicised and largely unsustainable consumer capitalism. Alternative trading organisations were seen establishing new links of solidarity between Northern consumers and Southern producers based on equitable exchange and mutual respect.

The impressively successful promotion of fairtrade and organic goods in mainstream retail outlets, however, meant deeper involvement with the institutions of the global market and with established players in it. Many academic commentators turned their critical attention to “mainstreaming”, to fairtrade marketing and on the effects on producer communities.

This does not mean that critical researchers have turned against ethical consumption. For the most part they remain sympathetic to and supportive of the project of bringing moral considerations back into the economy and achieving more sustainable ways of life by  re-politicise consumption

In this situation a number of questions arise: What can critical research do for the practice of organising and promoting fairtrade? How can its results communicated in a way that is usable for practitioners and policy makers? What balance should be struck between involvement and critical distance? How can practitioners incorporate critical perspectives in their practices? How can they best communicate the practical constraints under which they operate back to researchers?

In order to approach these questions we will present major streams of academic critique on different levels (producer impact, organisational practices, and marketing/imageries) and hear practitioners’ responses and also what they expect from academic research.

Confirmed speakers so far:

• Dr Amanda Berlan, University of Manchester: Impact on Producer Communities
• Nita Pillai, Fair Trade Foundation
• Dr Iain Davies, Cranfield School of Management: Researching Fairtrade Organisations
• Dr Caroline Wright, University of Warwick: Fairtrade Marketing and Imageries

We invite 15-minutes contributions from postgraduate researchers from any social sciences discipline who were until recently or are currently looking at fairtrade from a critical perspective. We are particularly interested in contributions that highlight how they negotiate their position as objective and critical academic observers with considerations for a beneficial impact of their research. Please send in an abstract of about 200 words before 30^th July. We will be able to reimburse postgraduate contributors with their travel expenses.

Contact: Dr Matthias Z Varul, University of Exeter, Department of Sociology and Philosophy, Amory, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK, 01392 410458, m.z.varul@ex.ac.uk.