Abstract

A growing body of literature in geography has been problematizing an emerging trend in contemporary economics characterized as 'alternative'. Most of this literature has focused on the food sector, and the turn to 'quality' within this sector as a means of differentiation from the 'mainstream'. Whereas the mainstream sector is characterized by the large, global scale and corporate context, the alternative food sector is associated with the small, local scale and the independent context. This thesis takes the exploration of alternative economics to the realm of fashion, with an investigation of the ethical fashion industry in Montreal, Canada. This investigation takes the form of a case study, based on 38 semi-structured interviews with designers, retailers and intermediaries of the Montreal industry. The results of this case study explore the dynamic and evolving relations implicated in the promotional strategies of Montreal's ethical fashion industry. My findings highlight the limits to the alternative/mainstream dichotomy. Strategic tactics on the part of ethical fashion producers and retailers, whereby both 'ethical' and 'non-ethical' imagery and products are deployed, suggest that alternative economic processes are more likely to be situated along an alternative-mainstream continuum and that the points of alternative/mainstream convergence merit further investigation from a theoretical and policy standpoint.