The Normalisation and Exclusivity of Fair-Trade Consumption

Abstract

Fair-trade consumption is represented by some of the most powerful institutions in UK society as a moral duty and a form of global citizenship (see Chapters 3 and 4). Local and national government support fair-trade; schools teach about fair-trade consumption as part of the National Curriculum for Key Stage 4 citizenship and geography; both print and television media feature a high proportion of positive stories about fair-trade, especially during Fairtrade Fortnight; business and retailers promote fair-trade options; and a number of churches (and other sites of worship) are encouraging their congregations to switch to fair-trade. Fair-trade organisations, like the FTF, FFTS and FTUSA, appeal to the all-inclusive figure of the ‘consumer’ in their campaigning material in order to suggest that every person in society has the capacity and responsibility to influence trading relations through their purchasing activity. Fair-trade consumption ‘deems itself to be based upon morally objective grounds’, calling upon all individuals to recognise and act upon universal understandings of the avoidance of harm to humans (Fagan, 2006: 125). Indeed, George Alagiah (a former patron of the FTF) famously branded Alex Singleton (a free trade advocate) ‘immoral’ in a debate about fair-trade because Alex offered a critique of the fair-trade model (Waitrose, 2007).