About

Elizabeth A. Bennett, PhD, is the Joseph M. Ha Associate Professor of International Affairs and Director of Political Economy at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. She recently completed a fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and is an on-going fellow at the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. In 2021-22, her research was supported by a J. Robert Beyster Fellowship described by Businesswire here. She has been invited to join the Forum Basiliense at the University of Basel (Switzerland) as a Senior Fellow in fall 2025.

Dr. Bennett is internationally recognized for her expertise on labor exploitation in globalized supply chains and serves on the Academic Advisory Council to the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards. Currently, she is working on a book about the ways in which voluntary sustainability certifications and fair trade labels have both supported and challenged living wages, employee ownership, and profit-sharing.

She holds a PhD in Political Science from Brown University and a MALD (Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy) focused on political economy and development from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. She completed her dissertation in residence as a Research Associate at the Center for Fair and Alternative Trade (CFAT) at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Dr. Bennett’s publications include a book (The Civic Imagination: Making a Difference in American Political Life), co-edited volume (The Handbook of Research on Fair Trade with Laura T. Raynolds), and numerous invited book chapters and refereed journal articles. She is currently working on ethical issues in cannabis (marijuana) supply chains, sustainability certifications, fair trade, workers’ rights, income inequality, globalized supply chains, and textile manufacturing. As an interdisciplinary scholar, her research engages international relations, political economy, public policy, sociology, social movement studies, consumer culture, business management, and sustainable development.

Dr. Bennett’s work has been featured in The Guardian, PBS Nova, The Oregonian and other media outlets. She (occasionally) helps save trees.

Illustrations of public engagement:

  • Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) standards committee member – setting policies with implications for over 3 million textile factory workers world wide (2018-present)
  • United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS) – Academic Advisory Council member – advising five UN agencies on how to engage with voluntary certification programs (e.g., Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) (2021-present)
  • Reviewer for research International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) report on farmer/worker/supplier inclusion in sustainability standard governance (2023)
  • Research for the International Guide to Fair Trade Labels (2020)

Download book chapters and journal articles that introduce these topics:

Access shorter essays (e.g., magazine articles and blog posts) for a general audience:

Stream keynotes and public lectures: 

Dr. Bennett is at times available for keynotes, guest lectures, consulting, short-term workshops, and blog/magazine articles. Please contact directly: ElizabethBennett@lclark.edu.