Dublin has been awarded the title Fairtrade capital city following a two year campaign to attain the coveted status.
The Irish Fairtrade Association will present Dublin's Lord Mayor Paddy Bourke with a plaque to mark the event at a ceremony in Dublin City Hall tomorrow night in recognition of the city's efforts to encourage the public to buy fairtrade products.
Council staff, retailers, schools and universities joined the campaign to help Dublin achieve the coveted status and around 120 shops and 60 catering outlets across the capital have already signed up to sell Fairtrade products.
Dublin will become the latest European capital, along with the likes of Rome and Edinburgh, to support the growing worldwide movement which is a form of marketing that promotes the payment of a fair price for products from developing countries in a bid to fight poverty and inequality.
Dublin City Council has planned a series of events over the next fortnight to encourage shoppers to think twice about the products they are buying.
A series of flags and banners will be erected along the Quays and in the city centre to highlight the series of activities, which will run from Monday February 25th until Sunday March 9th.
"The Irish people are a very generous people by nature," Mr Bourke said.
"We don't like to think that people are being exploited. We think very carefully about where we spend our money. If we can get a like-for-like product at a similar price and ensure that the grower gets a fair price for his produce, then I think we go down that road," he added.