Building capacity of Russian and Baltic NGOs on consumers’ education

Nowadays NGOs play an important role in the democratic society - they inform and represent society and influence policy makers, industry representatives and other interest groups. However neither in Baltic countries nor in Russia they are able fully to take this role yet. It applies also to the consumers’ education field, especially what relates to the chemical substances in the goods. Therefore it is important to educate consumer organizations and to build up their capacities. Nordic countries have been working on the consumers’ information issues for a long time and the experience exchange is a valuable action in order to raise the capacities of NGOs in Russia and Baltic States. A project

Building capacity of Russian and Baltic NGOs on consumers’ education

Main aim of the project:
- to increase capacity of Baltic and Russian NGOs in field of consumer education

The detailed objectives are:
– To transfer the knowledge from Danish NGO to NGOs in Russia and Baltic States with regard to consumers education
– To build up capacity of NGOs in Russia and Baltic States on issues related to chemicals in goods
– To promote sustainable and long lasting cooperation between NGOs

Target group - NGOs in Russia and Baltic States
Duration – 1 year (from 2nd of April 2007 till 31st of March 2008)

Project is implemented by Baltijas Vides forums, Latvia in cooperation with Danish Consumer Council, Denmark, Balti  Keskkonnaforum, Estonia, Baltijos Aplinkos forumas, Lithuania and Keep St. Petersburg Tidy, Russia.

Project is financially supported by Nordic Council of Ministers.

Project activities:
• Survey and identification of more health and environment friendly products available on the market in Russia and Baltic States
• Handbook for NGOs on practical tools related to consumers’ awareness raising and education
• Pilot training for NGOs in Russia (13th and 14th of November, 2007)
• Trainings for NGOs in Baltic States (November, December 2007)
• International workshop for NGOs (5th and 6th of March, 2008)

Survey "Identification of more health and environment friendly products available on the market in Russia and Baltic States"

The aim of the survey was to identify more human health and environmentally friendly products in Russia and the Baltic States. The results are used as examples in the handbook for NGOs and in the trainings for NGOs.
The aim was to focus on areas that are available for the consumers themselves, i.e. what information can be found directly on the products.

The survey focused on products used by everyday consumers and the different labels that are on these products. The focus was therefore not only on eco-labels but also on other labels such as danger labels, and allergy-friendly labels in order to make an overview of the labels that consumers are confronted with. Furthermore some products were examined according to whether the list of ingredients contain potentially harmful substances or not.
 
4 different product categories were examined:
- Sunscreens (incl. Sunscreens for children)
- Washing powders and liquids
- Air refreshers
- Indoor paints

Survey results pdf >>

Handbook for NGOs >>