Fairtrade weeks have become a well-known tradition in most consumer societies. Estonia that launched Fairtrade officially as the first Baltic country in May 2007 joins the tradition this autumn.

Many special guests will visit Tallinn next week. Coffee farmer John Kanjagaile of Tanzania is an export manager of one of the oldest coffee cooperatives in Africa. Journalist Erkki Toivanen with roots in Estonia is Fairtrade Goodwill Ambassador in Finland. Mrs. Ilona Hofstra of Max Havelaar Holland and Mr. Jeroen Kroezen of Agrofair will share their experience as initiators of international Fairtrade system and successful social entrepreneurship, respectively. Retail, catering and other interested companies are invited to a morning coffee and a seminar “Fairtrade – following the Dutch example” with the guests on Thursday, November 15 in the Estonian Chamber of Commerce. In the seminar it is possible to see and taste various products certified with the Fairtrade Mark available in Estonia.

Mr. Kanjagaile will visit the Estonian Parliament to discuss the impact of Fairtrade to African producers with Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and make an appeal to the MPs to follow the example of European Parliament, Norwegian and Swedish national assemblies to switch to Fairtrade coffee and tea. An award of Fairtrade Friend is presented to Open Estonia Fondation, an NGO that has been using Fairtrade products in its office and actively supports Fairtrade principles in Estonia. A photo exhibition “The Price of Coffee” is opened in Audentes University, which will be displayed in various public places in 2008.

Fairtrade week is joined by retailers. Tallinn Kaubamaja and Stockmann, carrying the widest assortiment of Fairtrade products in Estonia, will run Fairtrade fruit campaigns. Consumers will find new Fairtrade products such as Van Houten chocolate drink and Little Green Radicals cotton clothes for children.

The first Fairtrade week is organized jointly with the Estonian Green Movement and the Association for Promoting Fairtrade in Finland with the support and cooperation of the European Union, the Estonian European Movement, the Estonian Roundtable for Development Cooperation, The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Estonia, the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute, Audentes University and the European Union Information Centre.