University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE FAIRTRADE
MOVEMENT IN FRANCE AND THE UK.
Abstract
Fanny Salignac, The University of Sydney, Australia
Richard Seymour, The University of Sydney, Australia
Catherine Welch, The University of Sydney, Australia
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In this paper we introduce the concept of Fairtrade, reviewing its goals. We argue that academics
have oversimplified the phenomenon by considering Fairtrade from the opposing positions of
utility maximization and ethical behaviour. The academic debate has been dominated by a ‘free
market’ discourse (homo economicus) in opposition to a ‘collectivist’ one (homo sociologicus),
both of which have long historical roots in economics. We then turn to the movement itself to see
to what extent the same discourses can be found, and the extent to which Fairtrade as a discursive
event transcends national boundaries. Data on four case firms are presented from secondary
sources published in The UK and France. The discourses through which retailers of the North
talk about their Southern producers were analyzed in depth. We find considerable cross-national
differences and the emergence of a third discourse, that of ‘mainstreaming’.
Key words: Fairtrade – Discourse – UK - France
Introduction
Fairtrade was set up some 50 years ago as a mixture of charity and solidarity,
although for the next 30 years it remained politically and economically marginal
(Wilkinson 2007). This situation has changed dramatically over the last 15 years:
“While still small in terms of total market share, sales […] have grown exponentially
and now constitute a multi-million dollar industry” (VanderHoff Boersma 2009: 2).
While during the 1980s much of the Fairtrade initiatives were for the most part
unplanned and largely improvised, in 1997 several organizations united to create the
Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO). In brief, FLO’s mission is to
“improve the position of the poor and disadvantaged producers in the developing
world, by setting the Fairtrade standards and by creating a framework that enables
trade to take place at conditions respecting their interest” (Hutchens 2007).
The Fairtrade movement is a complex web of consumer activism, NGO initiatives,
for-profit and not-for-profit organisations, all of whom claim their actions can
improve the lot of disadvantaged countries through international trade (Nicholls &
Opal 2005). Yet despite this diversity, Fairtrade actors have converged on a common
definition. According to FINE, an informal network that includes FLO Fairtrade
should be defined as: