Consumer organization

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Consumer organizations are

One common means of providing consumers useful information is the independent comparative survey or test of products or services, involving different manufacturers or companies (e.g., Which?, Consumer Reports, etc.).

Another arena where consumer organizations have operated is

Consumer organizations may attempt to serve consumer interests by relatively direct actions such as creating and/or disseminating market information, and prohibiting specific acts or practices, or by promoting competitive forces in the markets which directly or indirectly affect consumers (such as transport, electricity, communications, etc.).[2]

History

Two precursor organizations to the modern consumer organization are

• Consumers International - International NGO
• ANEC
  (Europe; focus on standardization)
• BEUC (Europe; French
  : Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs)
• ICRT The only independent international organization for consumer research and testing

National organizations

Australia

• Consumers' Federation of Australia
• Australian Consumers Association

Botswana

• Consumer Watchdog

Canada

• Consumers' Association of Canada
• Consumers Council of Canada
• Option consommateurs

Fiji

• Consumer Council of Fiji
• Fiji Consumers Association

France

• Association de défense d'éducation et d'information du consommateur (ADEIC)
• Association Contre les Abus des Banques Européennes (ACABE)
• Association Force ouvrière des consommateurs (AFOC)
• Association Léo-Lagrange de défense du consommateur (ALLDC)
• Confédération générale du logement (CGL)
• Confédération nationale du logement (CNL)
• Association pour l'information et la défense des consommateurs salariés (Indecosa-CGT)
• Confédération nationale des associations familiales catholiques (CNAFC)
• Conseil national des associations familiales laïques (CNAFAL)
• Confédération syndicale des familles (CSF)
• Consommation Logement Cadre de vie (CLCV)
• Familles de France (FF)
• Familles rurales (FR)
• Fédération nationale des associations d'usagers des transports (FNAUT)
• Union fédérale des consommateurs - Que choisir (UFC-Que Choisir)
• Union nationale des associations familiales (UNAF)

Germany

• Stiftung Warentest
• Deutscher Konsumentenbund
• Foodwatch
• Verbraucherzentrale

Hong Kong

• Consumer Council

India

• Consumer Guidance Society of India

Ireland

• Consumers' Association of Ireland
• The National Consumer Agency (NCA) is a statutory body that defends consumer interests in the Republic of Ireland

Israel

• המועצה הישראלית לצרכנות (Consumer Council Israel)

Japan

• Consumers Union of Japan (founded in 1969)
• Japan Offspring Fund (founded in 1984)

Netherlands

• The Consumentenbond (founded in 1953), over 600,000 members.

Aside from this general consumer organisation, the Netherlands is home to many categorical consumer organisations whose working terrain is limited to a certain part of the markets. Examples of categorical organisations include:

• The Vereniging Eigen Huis ("Own House Association", for house owners; over 650,000 members)
• The Vereniging Consument & Geldzaken ("Consumer & Monetary Affairs Association", for financial consumers, of banking and insurance products; 32,000 members)
• The Woonbond ("League for Living", for renters)

Finally, there is a business regulation agency, charged with competition oversight, sector-specific regulation of several sectors, and enforcement of consumer protection laws:

• The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets

Singapore

• Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) is a statutory board to oversight consumer protection and anti-competition malpractices (e.g. price fixing, bid rigging, market sharing and production control) in markets.^[4]
• Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) is a NGO that promotes consumer interests and fair trading.^[5]

Switzerland

The

In the United Kingdom, the

• CAMRA
  - a lobbying group concerned with the tradition and quality of beer.
• The
  Citizens Advice Bureau
  , a free service that provides legal advice, practical help and information on consumer rights across the country.
• Consumer Council for Water (formerly known as Watervoice)
• Consumer Direct (abolished per 31 March 2012 with its functions being passed to local trading standards departments and Citizens Advice Bureau)
• Citizens Advice Bureaux, Citizens Advice Scotland and the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland following the Public Bodies Act 2011
  and any necessary secondary legislation. The transfer is expected to begin April 2013 and be complete by April 2014.
• General Consumer Council of Northern Ireland
• Good Garage Scheme, an automobile repair shop motoring scheme
• Postwatch
• Which? - formerly the Consumers Association - a consumer advocacy organisation which has substantial powers (for example to take representative actions under the Competition Act 1998) but which is primarily a lobbying organisation funded entirely by subscriptions to its regular consumer information magazine.

United States

• Alliance for Justice
• Better Business Bureau
• Consumer Action
• Consumer Federation of California
• Consumers Union, publishers of Consumer Reports
• Consumer Watchdog, formerly the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights
• FlyersRights.org
• Public Citizen
• Consumer Federation of America
• Center for Science in the Public Interest (food/nutrition)
• National Consumers League
• U.S. Public Interest Research Group
• CLARIFIED CONSUMER LLC (Consumer Right Advocacy)

Consumer magazines

By 1969 most capitalist countries with developed marketplaces hosted consumer organizations that published consumer magazines which reported the results of product testing.^[8] Internationally, the idea of consumer organizations spread from Consumers Union in the United States starting in 1956.^[8] The growth of interest in product testing journalism might be explained by increased consumption of mass-marketed products in and before that period.^[8] That increased international consumption itself was an effect of the aftermath of World War II.^[8]

In the 25 years after World War II, there was a correlation between the number of people in a country who were purchasing cars and the popularity of consumer magazines.^[11] In some cases, an increase in other consumer purchases seemed to drive popularity of consumer magazines, but the correlation was closest for populations who made decisions about buying cars.^[11] The availability of consumer magazines comforted consumers when individuals in society suddenly became overwhelmed with marketplace decisions, and the popularity of magazines seemed to grow as more marketplace decisions became available.^[12]

See also

• Consumer protection
• Consumer activism
• List of consumer organizations
• Actor analysis
• Transparency (market)
• Cost the limit of price

References