Research Themes

The project is structured around the following main themes:

The ethical status of the two case studies is attained through engagement with different forms of initiatives

The case studies engage with ethical and Fairtrade initiatives that originate in both the Global North and within South Africa itself. One of the objectives of the research has been to identify the different ethical/fair trade initiatives that apply to the Eksteenskuil Agricultural Co-operative (EAC) and sustainable wild flower harvesting case studies, whilst identifying the differing institutional frameworks and networks through which they operate. The South African case is particularly interesting in this respect owing to the ways in which national and local policies of empowerment inform and affect the workings of these codes and standards.

Practices of ethical production and their developmental outcomes are shaped by the cultural identities, local politics and ethical values of communities

The research has sought to identify the ways in which cultural, social and economic identities of different stakeholders within the two case study production networks affect engagement with the ethical/fair trade components of the supply chains. The question of ‘whose ethics?’ has resonated strongly with many of the people interviewed during the project. In other words, are the values embodied within the codes and standards of ethical production compatible with the concerns of farmers, packshed workers, pickers and other stakeholders within the supply chains? At the local level it has been important to evaluate the effects of social and political hierarchies within the rural communities and to examine how these affect participation in organisations like management boards, training opportunities, supplier committees and so forth. Given that ethical schemes are promoted to consumers as generators of socio-economic upliftment, it has been crucial to evaluate the livelihood impacts of the supply chains, whilst considering how these impacts have been refracted through particular roles played by people in institutions, farms and households.

Environmental conservation and socio-economic development

Environmental concerns have gained greater currency within consumer and corporate discourse in recent years. This project has sought to identify the different environmental codes and standards that are emerging in the two case study areas, and to consider whose ethical values they represent. It has also been important to consider whether concern for the environment comes at the expense of socially-focused elements or whether these strands blend into a more coherent concept of broad-based sustainability.