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The so-called quantity equalization allows the mixing of fair trade and conventional raw materials.
We know the principle of green electricity: in households that have opted for electricity from renewable sources, the same electricity comes from the socket as those that want to purchase conventional electricity. Nevertheless, purchasing green electricity supports the expansion of renewable energies. The situation is very similar with certain Fairtrade products.
This is how quantity balancing works
Normally, raw materials from fair trade are processed separately. For example, Fairtrade bananas: From the palm tree to the supermarket, these remain separate from conventional bananas. However, this strict separation is not possible for other Fairtrade raw materials – namely cocoa, tea, sugar and fruit juices, says Simon Aebi, Head of Commercial at Fairtrade Max Havelaar: “We use quantity equalization for these.”
As an example, Aebi cites Fairtrade orange juice, which mostly comes from Brazil. «Juice oranges have to be processed very quickly after harvest. The Fairtrade farmers are therefore dependent on appropriate juicing facilities.” However, the large juicing companies are often not prepared to process Fairtrade and conventional products separately for logistical reasons, among other things. “The effort would be too great for them.” The juice from conventional and fair trade oranges is therefore mixed. The important thing is: “The amount of Fairtrade oranges delivered produces a certain amount of juice. And only this amount of juice can then be sold under Fairtrade conditions.”
Legal label fraud?
To stay with the example of oranges: For consumers, this means that they may buy a liter of Fairtrade orange juice that does not contain any juice from Fairtrade oranges. “Yes, that is actually possible,” says Simon Aebi from Max Havelaar: “But you can be sure that the volume of this liter of orange juice has actually been produced under Fairtrade conditions.”
For Aebi, this is not a label fraud: “The products advertise that they were produced with quantity compensation.” And even if this is a term that is probably not familiar to everyone: “You can find out more information via a link that is also provided on the products.”
It also works without quantity compensation
Consumer protection organizations are critical of the volume equalization. Sara Stalder, managing director of the Swiss Foundation for Consumer Protection, described the quantity equalization to SRF as “misleading people who really want to support fair trade products”. Also the Consumer advice center in Germany believes that where it says “fair” on it, it must also have “fair” on it.
There are Fairtrade organizations that do not use equalization. For example, the German Gepa only accepts quantity equalization in exceptional cases – for example if a product is unavailable at short notice. For Fairtrade Max Havelaar, this is currently out of the question: “If we forego quantity equalization, many small farmers would no longer be able to produce under Fairtrade conditions.”