Ethical Consumers and e-Commerce: The Emergence and Growth of Fair Trade

ABSTRACT In this article we seek to investigate the claim that active consumer choice can influence societal transformation through study of the growth in the market for 'fair trade' goods in the UK, and by evaluating the effect of their availability through e-commerce. We assess this phenomenon with reference to the literature on ethical consumerism locating it within consumer studies, and discuss the role played by the use of information and communication technologies. Changes in the nature of consumerism have been identified, and the issue of the impact of the consumer in societal and global change is discussed here in relation to the wider issue of sustainable development