Drivers of Ethical Consumption in Switzerland and Japan

Organized by

Makiko Hashinaga
Senior Fellow 2023–2024

Informations

Venue & accessibility info: Meridian Hall, Collegium Helveticum

This is a public event. Participation is free of charge and registration is not required. It is followed by a small reception.

A live stream with auto-captioning is available for this workshop.

This workshop and panel discussion will focus on the question of what direct consumers need for ethical behavior. Experts from Switzerland and Japan in sociology, law, and ethical consumption will analyze the current situation and challenges, and discuss effective measures to promote ethical consumption, taking into account individual and contextual factors.

The following open discussion will be accompanied by a chocolate workshop to increase participants’ awareness of their own product selection criteria.

The aim of this event is to uncover the various factors in which Switzerland and Japan may differ and to find solutions for creating a sustainable production and consumption cycle.

Program

Participants

Jörg Rössel

Jörg Rössel is Ordinarius of Sociology at the University of Zurich since 2008 and since August 2013 director of the Institute of Sociology. He studied sociology and history at the Freie Universität Berlin (DE). He was occupied at the Institute of Cultural Science at the University of Leibzig, the International University of Bremen, the University of Erfurt and the University of Cologne (DE). In 2003/2004, he became a fellow at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University (US). His research interests include sociological theory, empirical cultural sociology, social stratification, political sociology, and comparative historical sociology.

Philipp Scheidiger

Philipp Scheidiger is the managing director at Swiss Fair Trade, the association of fair trade organizations in Switzerland. These include aid organizations, labels such as Max Havelaar and specialized trade organizations such as Gebana and Claro. He studied business economics at the University of Basel (CH) and worked as brand manager at Beiersdorf AG (international cosmetic company), marketing assistant at Migros (Swiss retailer), program manager at ADRA Thailand (International development organization), marketing and finance director at Surprise (NGO for marginalized people in Switzerland), marketing director at SOS Childrens Villages (international children’s aid organization), and is on the advisory board of SIPPO (Swiss import promotion program Switzerland). 

Tatsuya Watanabe

Tatsuya Watanabe is professor emeritus at Tokyo Keizai University (Tokyo University of Economics). He studied international relations at Tokyo University and international development at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (US). Tatsuya has worked as a news correspondent at the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) as research coordinator at the Asian and Pacific Development Centre (APDC) in Malaysia, as research director at the Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC), as a country representative at Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC) in Laos, and as professor at Tokyo Keizai University from 2000 to 2023. His social contribution includes being the founder and chair of the board of the Fair Trade Forum Japan, being a member of the International Fair Trade Towns Steering Committee representing Asia-Pacific, and being the founder and a board member of the Japan Ethical Initiative.

Patrick Schenk

Patrick Schenk is a senior assistant in the Faculty of Cultural and Social Sciences at University of Lucerne. He studied sociology, economics and philosophy at the University of Zurich (CH) and has worked as a researcher and project coordinator in the international SCOPES project “Living strategies and survival strategies of households and individuals in Southeast European societies in times of crisis” and was a visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne. Patrick’s research lies at the intersection of economic sociology, the sociology of morality, and the sociology of technology such as fair trade, vegetarianism, ethical finance, wine production and consumption, the ethics of artificial intelligence, and more. In 2022 and 2023, he was recognized with the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching by the University of Lucerne.

Makiko Hashinaga

Makiko Hashinaga is professor in the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sapporo Gakuin University (JP). She studied education at Tokyo Gakugei University, where she received her PhD in 2016. Her research interests encompass consumer financial education and consumer financial behavior, focusing on socially responsible behavior through international comparison between the US, the UK, Thailand, China, Switzerland, and Japan. Her social contribution includes being a committee member of the Financial and Securities Education Support Committee of the Japan Securities Dealers Association, the Sapporo City Environmental Council, and the Japan Fair Trade Forum. Her book Theory and Practice in Personal Finance Education was recognized with an award from The Japan Society of Household Economics. Makiko is currently an academic guest at the University of Zurich and a senior fellow at Collegium Helveticum.

This panel discussion is part of a program celebrating the 160^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Japan.

Supported by

Embassy of Japan in Switzerland