This article highlights the questions of how western European societies perceived the South African apartheid system and how these perceptions influenced changes within these societies between the 1950s and the 1990s. It proposes to investigate themes of contemporary importance – such as consumer ethics, the rise of the global media and the development of ‘global justice movements’ – by focusing on the perception of apartheid. What was the global impact of apartheid in the fields of politics, economics, media and travel,and how did apartheid come to be viewed and discussed in an increasingly coherent manner throughout these fields?