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International consumer protection
Luke UpchurchConsumers International
Moscow, 5 April 2012
About Consumers International
• 220 member organisations in 115 countries
• Funded by membership fees and donors institutions
• Global , independent, not-for-profit
• Champion consumer rights globally and build consumer right groups nationally
About Consumers International
• UN ‘General consultative status’
• Lead work at International Organization of Standardization (ISO)
• Partnerships with International Consumer Research and Testing (ICRT), European Consumers Bureau (BEUC), Financial Stability Board (FSB), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Our growth
Helped develop consumer movement in Central and Eastern Europe in 1990s
Consumer advice centres and mediation in Kazakhstan in 2005-7 and Azerbaijan, 2006-10
15 member organisations in the Former Soviet Union
Our achievements
G20 agreement on better financial consumer protection
World Health Organization guidelines on the marketing of unhealthy food to children
International standard on social responsibility
Our workConsumer groups empowerment
• Expertise on developing consumer protection legislation
• Expertise on developing model consumer law
•Access to training workshops
•Access to other national organisations
•Access to international decision-making bodies
Our workInternational advocacy - Consumers for fair financial services
Our members
Subscriber models:
Consumer Reports – 8 million subscribers, 600,000 online accounts
Which? – 870,000 online and magazine subscribers
Our members
Consumer Reports campaign:
Lobbied successfully for a strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Forced Bank of America to back down on consumer charges.
Our membersWhich? campaign:
‘The Big Switch’ 260,000 consumer campaign
Sign up online, Which? negotiates better deal with energy companies
Has gained support from UK government and pushed energy companies to act
“Consumers, by definition, include us all. They are the largest economic group, affecting and affected by almost every public and private economic decision…. And yet they are often not heard.”
Our growth
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Members
Countries
Our members
• Staff: 1• voluntary groups• grass roots
• Staff: 1,000• multi-million dollar organisations• magazine subscription
