University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

supermarkets, including Tesco, promptly accelerated their Fairtrade initiatives in
response.
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While we have seen the competition dramatically increasing through the years in the
British market for Fairtrade we have also been able to appreciate the diverging
approaches both retailers, Tesco and Traidcraft, have taken, which also tells us a lot
about the kind of identity as a retailer they have built for themselves. While the
discourse surrounding Tesco’s overall stance on Fairtrade does not place producers at
the forefront, Traidcraft clearly position itself as a Fairtrade advocate, although use a
less oppositional discourse than the one suggested by FINE’s Fairtrade definition.
Contributions and Conclusions
While both Tesco and Carrefour are operating in different national contexts, the
discourse surrounding the Fairtrade identity they have built for themselves does not
suggest a genuine stance toward other-regarding behaviour - although we have
noticed a slight change in the language Tesco uses in 2007. Overall, while Carrefour
and Tesco publicize their Fairtrade products, their discourse remains that of a free
trade stance. Kant and his vision on the “purity of motives” can inform our analysis
of the Fairtrade values exhibited through both Carrefour and Tesco’s public
statements. Central to Kant’s moral philosophy is the belief that individuals’ actions
are only truly moral if they are morally motivated and uncontaminated by motives of
self interest (Bowie 2002). From this perspective, Tesco and Carrefour’s actions
cannot be classified as being moral and ethical given the self-interest that still
dominated their discourse.
The theory of utilitarianism, on the other hand, is a consequentialistic theory and is
concerned with ethics in the sense that it aims at determining whether human actions
are right or wrong (Snoeyenbos & Humber 2002) by looking at the consequences of
such involvement. Looking at Tesco’s and Carrefour’s actions from this perspective,
even if motivated by profit they result in helping third word producers and therefore
in a moral outcome.
At the other extreme, ADM is unambiguously a defender of Fairtrade principles, the
discourse it uses is particular to the Fairtrade discourse set out by the FINE’s
definition. ADM positions itself as a militant campaigning for changing the rules of
international trade and positioning itself against conventional economic principles.
As such a fervent advocate of Fairtrade principles, ADM is strictly against
supermarkets’ involvement and competes by keeping its distinctiveness as opposed
to competing directly with supermarkets.
Traidcraft, however, although also a specialised Fairtrade retailer, displays a different
strategy. Traidcraft does not position itself as a militating for Fairtrade values, but as
willing to do whatever it can to integrate Fairtrade into the mainstream. While ADM
wants to change the rules of international trade, Traidcraft, and more generally the
British Fairtrade movement as supported by Fairtrade organizations, support the view