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A High Road to Sustainability? Wildflower Harvesting, Ethical Trade and Social Upgrading in South Africa’s Western Cape

Bek, D.; Binns, T.; Blokker, T.; McEwan, C.; Hughes, A.

A High Road to Sustainability? Wildflower Harvesting, Ethical Trade and Social Upgrading in South Africa’s Western Cape Thumbnail


Authors

D. Bek

T. Binns

T. Blokker

A. Hughes



Abstract

This paper evaluates the outcomes from an ambitious wildflower harvesting programme in South Africa's Western Cape, which has sought to achieve positive outcomes in terms of socio-economic development and biodiversity conservation. Indigenous wildflowers, harvested according to conservation principles, are processed into ‘Cape Flora’ bouquets and sold into international and domestic markets. The principal supply chain provides an example of ethical trade due to the explicit environmental and social standards that are required at local sites of production. The incorporation of such standards represents an attempt to engender economic and social upgrading within the value chain. In this sense, the programme is consistent with dominant policy discourses, which suggest that exploiting potentially profitable niches within international trade flows represents a ‘high road’ to economic growth and transformation. The paper focuses upon the job creation and social impacts of the programme in the context of efforts to overcome South Africa's deeply entrenched socio-economic disparities and high poverty levels. Despite impressive growth in production and exports during the global financial crisis, there have been mixed outcomes in terms of benefits to stakeholders at the upstream end of the supply chain. The paper concludes by considering the extent to which local initiatives operating under the framework of ethical trade possess the potential to facilitate effective social and economic upgrading.

Citation

Bek, D., Binns, T., Blokker, T., McEwan, C., & Hughes, A. (2016). A High Road to Sustainability? Wildflower Harvesting, Ethical Trade and Social Upgrading in South Africa’s Western Cape. Journal of Agrarian Change, 17(3), 459-479. https://doi.org/10.1111/joac.12149

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 7, 2015
Online Publication Date Mar 1, 2016
Publication Date Mar 1, 2016
Deposit Date Oct 9, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 1, 2018
Journal Journal of Agrarian Change
Print ISSN 1471-0358
Electronic ISSN 1471-0366
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 17
Issue 3
Pages 459-479
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/joac.12149
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1398042

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Bek, D., Binns, T., Blokker, T., Mcewan, C., and Hughes, A. (2016) A High Road to Sustainability? Wildflower Harvesting, Ethical Trade and Social Upgrading in South Africa's Western Cape. Journal of Agrarian Change, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/joac.12149. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.






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