Protecting Consumers

PROTECTING CONSUMER SAFETY—Toys should not be toxic or dangerous for children to play with. Our food should not make us sick. The terms for banking and credit accounts should be clear and easy to understand.

LOOKING OUT FOR THE PUBLIC

WISPIRG’s consumer program works to alert the public to hidden dangers and scams and to ban anti-consumer practices and unsafe products.

TROUBLE IN TOYLAND

For 26 years, WISPIRG’s Trouble In Toyland report has surveyed store shelves and identified choking hazards, noise hazards and other dangers. One year, our research led to the recall of a cloth children’s book that we found contained lead.

BIGGER BANKS BIGGER FEES

In April, WISPIRG released a report in which we surveyed more than 350 bank branches and revealed that fewer than half of branches obeyed their legal duty to fully disclose fees to prospective customers, while one in four provided no fee information at all.  We also found that despite widespread stories about the “death” of free checking, free and low-cost checking choices are still widely available, if consumers shop around.

Issue updates

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Don’t Freeze our Public Health and Consumer Safety Protections | Bruce Speight

Last year, in the 175 days that the U.S. House of Representatives was in session, it passed more than 190 anti-regulatory bills. Putting profits over public safety and they are still at it.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

50 Years Ago This Week, JFK Ushered in Modern Consumer Protection Era | Ed Mierzwinski

People of almost any age know a lot about the Kennedy administration with its optimistic beginnings and its sudden, tragic end. Yet many have probably never heard of one of JFK's important legacies -- his declaration that consumers have rights that deserve protection.

> Keep Reading

Capital Times: New study shows toxics in toys, poisons in paint

Popular children's toys, including Playmobil play figures, are on a list of 650 brand name products containing two hormone-disrupting chemicals, according to a new report.

> Keep Reading
News Release | WISPIRG | Consumer Protection

Poison in Paint, Toxics in Toys

A new report identifies for the first time more than 650 brand name products that contain two hormone-disrupting toxic chemicals. 

> Keep Reading
Report | WISPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

Poison in Paint, Toxics in Toys

For the first time more than 650 brand name household products that contain one of two toxic chemicals of high concern, NPEs (nonylphenol ethoxylates) and BPA (bisphenol A), have been publicly identified. Twenty-five manufacturers reported their use of NPEs and BPA in consumer products sold in Maine under a 2008 state law on chemical safety.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Capital Times: New study shows toxics in toys, poisons in paint

Popular children's toys, including Playmobil play figures, are on a list of 650 brand name products containing two hormone-disrupting chemicals, according to a new report.

> Keep Reading
News Release | WISPIRG | Consumer Protection

Poison in Paint, Toxics in Toys

A new report identifies for the first time more than 650 brand name products that contain two hormone-disrupting toxic chemicals. 

> Keep Reading

Capital Times: U.S. House attacks public health safeguards

The day after Consumer Reports released findings showing alarming levels of arsenic in children’s juice brands, the U.S. House took up two bills last week and another scheduled for this week that would make it harder to test, regulate and recall dangerous products from store shelves.

> Keep Reading
News Release | WISPIRG | Consumer Protection

Parents Beware - Many Toys Still Toxic, Hazardous

Dangerous or toxic toys can still be found on America’s store shelves, Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG) announced on Tuesday in its 24th annual Trouble in Toyland report.  The group also highlighted the need for state action to protect children from bisphenol-A (BPA), a toxic chemical linked to cancer, diabetes, early onset puberty, obesity and hyperactivity that is commonly found in baby bottles and sippy cups.

> Keep Reading
News Release | WISPIRG | Consumer Protection

Survey Finds Toxic or Dangerous Toys on Store Shelves

Dangerous or toxic toys can still be found on America’s store shelves, according to a Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group’s (WISPIRG) 26th annual Trouble in Toyland report.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Keeping Kids’ School Lunches Safe

For years, Wisconsin’s schoolchildren ate substandard chicken and beef—of such poor quality that fast-food chains wouldn’t even serve it. WISPIRG stood up for kids, and the USDA set stronger standards for school lunches.

> Keep Reading

Protecting Wisconsin Kids from Toxic BPA

WISPIRG played a key role in 2010 in making Wisconsin the third state to ban bisphenol-A (BPA), a toxic chemical linked to cancer and obesity, from baby bottles and sippy cups.

> Keep Reading

Protecting Consumers from Unsafe Products

In the wake of the “Year of the Recall,” the largest overhaul in the history of the Consumer Product Safety Commission was signed into law on Aug. 14, 2008. The WISPIRG-backed Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act will help make products across the country safer — far less likely to trigger the massive recalls we saw a year ago and, more importantly, far less likely to cause harm to children.

> Keep Reading

Pioneering Prescription Drug Reform

In 2007, the president signed a WISPIRG-backed law to rein in the makers of drugs like Vioxx, Paxil and Avandia, all of which had dangerous and deadly side effects. The bill reforms the Food and Drug Administration’s drug safety review process, makes drugs safer, and holds drug makers more accountable for the safety of consumers.

> Keep Reading

Stopping Identity Theft

A WISPIRG-backed bill to give consumers the ability to freeze their credit reports was signed into law in 2006. The law will allow consumers to lock out identity thieves, and further protect themselves from fraud.

> Keep Reading
Report | WISPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

Poison in Paint, Toxics in Toys

For the first time more than 650 brand name household products that contain one of two toxic chemicals of high concern, NPEs (nonylphenol ethoxylates) and BPA (bisphenol A), have been publicly identified. Twenty-five manufacturers reported their use of NPEs and BPA in consumer products sold in Maine under a 2008 state law on chemical safety.

> Keep Reading
Report | WISPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland 2010

Dangerous or toxic toys can still be found on America’s store shelves, the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG) announced in its 25th annual Trouble in Toyland report.

> Keep Reading
Report | WISPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland 2011

Dangerous or toxic toys can still be found on America’s store shelves, according to the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group’s (WISPIRG) 26th annual Trouble in Toyland report.

> Keep Reading
Report | WISPIRG | Consumer Protection

Recipe for Disaster

According to this study, 54 recalls have occurred in Wisconsin due to contamination by Salmonella and other bacteria related to food borne illness in the last 14 months.

> Keep Reading
Report | WISPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

Mixed Signals

WISPIRG has conducted “secret shopper” surveys at 132 electronics stores in ten states – including Madison and Milwaukee in Wisconsin – to determine if America’s big electronics retailers are properly preparing their customers for the digital transition. The results were released in WISPIRG’s new report: “Mixed Signals: How Retailers Mislead Consumers on the Digital Television (DTV) Transition.”

> Keep Reading

Pages

Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Don’t Freeze our Public Health and Consumer Safety Protections | Bruce Speight

Last year, in the 175 days that the U.S. House of Representatives was in session, it passed more than 190 anti-regulatory bills. Putting profits over public safety and they are still at it.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Protection

50 Years Ago This Week, JFK Ushered in Modern Consumer Protection Era | Ed Mierzwinski

People of almost any age know a lot about the Kennedy administration with its optimistic beginnings and its sudden, tragic end. Yet many have probably never heard of one of JFK's important legacies -- his declaration that consumers have rights that deserve protection.

> Keep Reading
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