Ethical consumerism and emerging, vice-stigmatized goods: the case of cannabis

Elizabeth A. Bennett

Chapter 39 in Research Handbook on the Sociology of Consumption, 2026, pp 449-465 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Ethical consumerism aims to make markets more moral, just, sustainable, or fair. Companies adopt more ethical business models and sourcing policies. Consumers leverage their purchasing power to reward ethical business. This chapter examines changes in ethical consumerism in the legal cannabis (marijuana) market in the US city of Portland, Oregon, from 2016 to 2019, the three years following legalization. Cannabis is an emerging market as well as a vice-stigmatized market, meaning it remains widely associated with negative habits or degrading pleasures. This study finds that, as the cannabis sector became better established: 1) supply and demand dynamics emerged differently among high-end, mid-range, and low-end retailers; 2) over time, most retailers offered better information; 3) more ethical certifications emerged and more retailers offered certified products; and 4) fewer retailers identified the sector's recent emergence or vice-stigma as factors that inhibit further development of ethical consumerism.

Keywords: Ethical consumerism; Political consumerism; Fair trade; Cannabis; Marijuana; Sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035310500
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