History
Consumers’ Research was founded in 1929 with the mission to educate and protect consumers from harmful products.
Fredrick J. Schlink, the founder of Consumers’ Research, started the organization with the intent to answer the question “Who – or what – best serves the consumer?” during a time when there were little to no consumer protection laws or oversight.
Consumers’ Research quickly became a top resource for consumer advocacy and product testing. Today, these values still hold true, as Consumers’ Research has evolved from a product-focused organization to a broader consumer advocacy organization – focused on educating consumers on the policies, products and services of concern to them and to promote the freedom to act on that knowledge and understanding.
Establishment
Consumers’ Research founder Frederick J. Schlink published the first Consumers’ Club Bulletin
Consumers’ Research incorporated in New York
Arthur Kallet and Frederick J. Schlink published the consumer defense book 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs
Consumers’ Research consumer product testing lab opened
Consumers’ Research Bulletin is first published
Consumers’ Research Magazine published
Evolution
Consumers’ Research sold to M. Stanton Evans and moved to Washington, D.C.
Consumers’ Research shut down the consumer product testing lab and shifted focus to the Consumers’ Research Magazine
M. Stanton Evans published articles critical of the federal healthcare policies known as HillaryCare, showcasing Consumers’ Research move from strictly product analysis to consumer impacts from government programs, laws, and regulation
M. Stanton Evans published an essay in the Consumers’ Research Bulletin, about federal regulations in relation to gas prices and the impacts it has on the industry’s ability to adapt for the consumer
Consumers’ Research began an extensive examination on the half-measure deregulation of the airline industry, concluding the biggest problem for consumers is the limited competition which allowed little incentive for the industry to focus on consumer satisfaction
Consumers’ Research analyzed the effects of government intervention in telecommunications access, concluding government intervention has not improved services for the consumer
Consumers’ Research hosts its first Bretton Woods Conference, bringing together leaders from various backgrounds to build consensus on the perception, regulation, and adoption of technologies such as cryptocurrency for the benefit of consumers. Consumers’ Research would go on to host crypto-related conferences for several years.
Consumers’ Research releases Bretton Woods Summit Paper—”Guiding Principles on Consumer Protection Best Practices for Businesses Working with Digital Currencies and other Blockchain-Derived Distributed Technology Assets”— cementing its commitment to focusing on the relationship between consumers and the evolving crypto industry.
Today
Will Hild became Consumers’ Research executive director
Consumers First Initiative launched, putting corporations on notice that they need to start serving their customers, not woke politicians