Rate My Professor Alex Hughes

Hughes specializes in economic geographies, with research focusing on social justice and environmental sustainability in global supply chains, corporate responsibility, sustainable production and consumption, labour standards including forced labour and modern slavery, and antimicrobial resistance in food supply chains. Her work spans sectors such as food, horticulture, textiles, and personal protective equipment, involving interdisciplinary collaborations in countries including Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, Pakistan, Malaysia, Brazil, China, the UK, and the USA. As Principal Investigator of the SCArFEthics project, she has advanced postcolonial perspectives on consumption from the Global South. Key publications include 'Retailers, knowledges and changing commodity networks: the case of the cut flower trade' (2003, 394 citations), 'Geographies of commodity chains' (2004, 345 citations), 'Rethinking governance and value in commodity chains through global recycling networks' (2013, 302 citations), 'Global value chains for medical gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic: Confronting forced labour through public procurement and crisis' (2023), 'The challenges of implementing antibiotic stewardship in diverse poultry value chains in Kenya' (2024), and 'Sustainable Food Consumption in China: Changing Foodscapes, Values and Practices' (2026). Her research has influenced policy on ethical trade, public procurement, and AMR governance.