This year, on January 8, European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella will visit one of the campaign’s Think before you buy venues in Riga – the construction materials shop K-Rauta – Lucavsala. The campaign is co-financed by LIFE programme, the EU funding instrument.
In the frame of the campaign Think before you buy, for more than year and a half all K-rauta department stores throughout Latvia offer the possibility to choose products with a special price tag Safer choice – less hazardous substances and also help customers with the tips on how to choose products which are safer to the environment and health.
The special price tags to the less hazardous products were assigned by the environmental and chemical experts from the non-governmental organization Baltic Environmental Forum, who had carefully examined the information provided by the manufacturers of the products. Also, information brochures are available for the customers at the department stores, which provide easy tips on how to choose safer finishing materials in order to have a healthier indoor air at the house.
The campaign Think before you buy in Latvia and Estonia is implemented by the Baltic Environmental Forum in cooperation with K-Rauta chain stores. In order to help the inhabitants to make informed choice at shops, a special homepage has been developed www.padomapirmsperc.lv, where it is possible to find guidance not only about renovation materials, but about cosmetics, household and car industry chemicals, toys and baby care products.
The LIFE programme is the most important European Union financial instrument for the environmental and climate protection projects. It has been operating since 1992 and is managed by the European Commission, supporting more than 4000 projects of environmental and climate protection for a total of about 3.4 billion euros.
