Fair trade functions as consumer self-expression rather than supply-chain change.

Evidence

The commodification of “social justice” tends to be a dicey proposition even predicated upon the best of intentions, but in this instance there is constant pressure on FLOI to loosen its definitions and slacken its demands for certification throughout the commodity chain. In practice, the FLOI system is devised to make it possible for coffee consumers to “express themselves” through purchases, more than it is about changing the supply chain; this is a signal characteristic of neoliberal life, as we have argued. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 410

Categorization

• XREF: Fits Mirowski’s central thesis that under neoliberalism markets become mediums of self-expression; echoes the reader’s prior notes on the ‘expressive consumer.’ — connects to: Ethical consumerism claims shopping itself can solve systemic global poverty — Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism: Is There No…, 34; Urban consumers can exercise reciprocity indirectly through purchasing choices — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 711