Abstract
This thesis explores the relationship between consumer movements and voluntary standards organisations in the field of agro-food sustainability. Empirically, it explores the relations between the Fairtrade Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation that licenses the use of the Fairtrade Mark in the UK, and Fairtrade campaigners within the context of the Fairtrade Towns movement in the UK.This work constructs an understanding of Fairtrade Towns as an organisationally-enabled network of activism, and the Fairtrade Foundation as a hybrid organisational form characterised by market-based purposes and political aims and practices. Through a multi-method approach, comprising documentary analysis, interviews, and netnographic observations including more than 100 communities in the UK, this study produced a multi-scalar and cross-disciplinary analysis of the Fairtrade Towns campaign.
Overall, this thesis tells the story of the relationship involving consumer movements and standards-based organisations tied in the promotion of social justice through market-based collective action. It is the story of their co-evolution, internal tensions, and co-construction of meanings for consumer activism. This thesis expands existing knowledge through empirical and practical contributions, as well as through theoretical advancements. First, it contributes to Fair Trade studies through a conceptualisation of Fairtrade Towns as claimed spaces for transformative change and through an analysis of digital repertoires of activism, a “hidden” dimension of Fair Trade campaigns. Second, it contributes to consumer research through the elaboration of two novel notions: “Sustainably Certified Consumer Communities” and “Digital repertoires of market-based activism”, which expand the existing literature on consumer movements through the identification of collective dimensions of place-based Fair Trade consumption and the related mechanisms of organising and mobilisation. Lastly, it contributes to organisation studies by casting new light on the political roles voluntary standards organisations can play.
As progressive environmental degradation and growing inequalities present us with interlinked systemic challenges, academic research has a key role to play in identifying potential ways forward. The study of grassroots initiatives promoting social justice and environmental sustainability is timely and particularly significant as these challenges are exacerbated by the global Covid pandemic and the increased polarisation and radicalisation within societies. Moreover, this is a critical time for sustainability standards in general and the Fair Trade movement in particular, as powerful market actors challenge its dominance as a sustainability certifier. In this context, a fine-grained understanding of campaigners’ support for Fairtrade organisations can provide useful insights on the political roles certification bodies can play to bring about social change.
| Date of Award | 27 Jul 2021 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Matthew Anderson (Supervisor), Stephen Williams (Supervisor) & Angela Crack (Supervisor) |