International consumer protection Luke Upchurch Consumers International Moscow
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International consumer protection Luke Upchurch Consumers 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 1990 s Consumer advice centres and mediation in Kazakhstan in 2005 -7 and Azerbaijan, 2006 -10 15 member organisations in the Former Soviet Union
Our achievements ü G 20 agreement on better financial consumer protection ü World Health Organization guidelines on the marketing of unhealthy food to children ü International standard on social responsibility
Our work Consumer 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 work International 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 members Which? 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. ”
lupchurch@consint. org
Our growth
Our members • Staff: 1 • voluntary groups • grass roots • Staff: 1, 000 • multi-million dollar organisations • magazine subscription