Growing Pains: Scale and Mission in the Fair Trade Textile Sector
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DePaul University Via Sapientiae College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences 11-2013 Growing pains: scale and mission in the fair trade textile sector Karlee Johnson DePaul University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd Recommended Citation Johnson, Karlee, "Growing pains: scale and mission in the fair trade textile sector" (2013). College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations. 155. https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/155 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Growing Pains: Scale and Mission in the Fair Trade Textile Sector A Thesis Presented In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts November 2013 BY Karlee Johnson Department of International Studies College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences DePaul University Chicago, Illinois Copyright © 2013 Karlee Johnson All rights reserved ABSTRACT This thesis examines the recent incorporation of factory production into fair trade textile production via a new fair trade certification program called the Apparel and Linens Program, launched by FairTrade USA. I argue that this expansion in the scale of production results in a dilution of fair trade’s commitment to improve the livelihoods of producers. To illustrate this argument, I first draw upon Polanyian and Marxist theories in order to theoretically ground the foundations of fair trade as well as its current trajectory. Additionally, I incorporate interviews, which I conducted at textile cooperatives in India, along with a content analysis that compares the Apparel and Linens program to the Fair Trade Federation’s Code of Practice, and a discourse analysis of the fair trade marketing campaigns of two large clothing corporations, Prana and Eileen Fisher. I conclude that the shift in property rights that takes place in the transition from cooperative to factory production results in a less beneficial arrangement for producers, who were once central to fair trade’s mission v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: HISTORY AND BACKGROUND ........................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Fair Trade ............................................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Post-War Production: A Brief History ................................................................ 7 1.3.1 Fordism ............................................................................................................... 8 1.3.2 Post-Fordism .................................................................................................. 10 1.4 Global Governance ................................................................................................ 12 1.4.1 Towards An Analysis of Fair Trade Textiles .................................................... 13 1.5 Part Two: Research Methodology ............................................................................ 14 1.5.1 Data Collection and Analysis .................................................................................. 14 1.5.2 Limitations ........................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER TWO: THEORIZING FAIR TRADE TEXTILES ........................................................ 19 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 19 2.2 The Great Transformation and Socially Embedded Markets ........................ 20 2.3 The Double Movement ................................................................................................ 24 2.3.1 Speehamland .................................................................................................. 25 2.3.2 The Owenite Movement ............................................................................. 26 2.4 Fair Trade: A Polanyian Moment ............................................................................. 29 2.5 Case Studies: Cooperatives A and B ........................................................................ 33 2.6 Fair Trade and the Capitalist Market ...................................................................... 39 2.6.1 Fair Trade Textiles and Barriers to Capital Accumulation ........... 40 2.6.2 Cooperative Ownership ............................................................................. 40 2.6.3 Inefficient Production Processes ............................................................ 41 2.7 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 44 CHAPTER THREE: EXPANSION ...................................................................................................... 46 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 46 3.2 Certification and the Split ........................................................................................... 47 3.3 FTUSA vs. FTF .................................................................................................................. 50 3.3.1 Trading Relationships ................................................................................ 53 3.3.2 Audits ................................................................................................................ 55 3.3.3 Grievances ....................................................................................................... 56 3.3.4 Ownership and Structure .......................................................................... 57 3.3.5 Empowerment ............................................................................................... 58 3.4 Social Embeddedness .................................................................................................. 61 3.5 Significance ....................................................................................................................... 63 3.6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 67 iv CHAPTER FOUR: ETHICAL CONSUMPTION DISCOURSE AND THE COMMODITY FETISH .......................................................................................................................... 69 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 69 4.2 Key Concepts .................................................................................................................... 70 4.2.1 Discourse Theory ........................................................................................... 70 4.2.2 Commodity Fetishism ................................................................................... 73 4.3 Case Studies ...................................................................................................................... 75 4.4 Transformations in Fair Trade Production .......................................................... 77 4.5 The Neoliberal Moral World: The Power of the Individual ........................... 78 4.6 Moral Commodities ....................................................................................................... 81 4.7 The Global Sisterhood .................................................................................................. 86 4.8 Community Connections ............................................................................................. 90 4.9 Re-working the Fetish .................................................................................................. 95 5.0 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 97 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 99 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................... 102 APPENDIX A ......................................................................................................................................... 106 v TABLES 1.1 Fair Trade Federation Code of Practice for Members vs. FTUSA Certification Guidelines ........................................................................................ 52 vi ABBREVIATIONS FTF Fair Trade Federation FTUSA Fair Trade USA ALP The Apparel and Linens Program FLO Fairtrade Labeling Organization IFTA International Fair Trade Association EFTA European Fair Trade Association WFTO World Fair Trade Organization (formerly IFTA) NEWS Network of European World Shops FINE Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International, International Fair Trade Association, Network of European World Shops, European Fair Trade Association MHI Marketplace Handwork of India vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr.