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Unit 7 Consumer Movement in Select Countries

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Unit 7 Consumer Movement in Select Countries UNIT 7 CONSUMER MOVEMENT IN SELECT COUNTRIES Structure 7.0 Objectives 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Consumer Movement in America 7.3 Consumer Mmement in Europe 7.4 Consumer Movement in Asia-Japan 7.5 Consumer Movement in Developing/Third World Countries 7.6 Let Us Sum Up 7.7 Key Words 7.8 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises 7.0 OBJECTIVES This unit deals with the Consumer Movement in some select countries of Asia, Europe and America. A study of thc comparative growth of consumer movement in terms of issues involved and patterns of growth will enable you to : Understand the origin of consumer movement and issues involved in different countries. @ Appreciate the differences as well as similarities in the patterns of growth of consumer movement in different countries. 0 Take note of the role of women in the consumer movement. Draw lessons for expanding the consumer movement in India. 7.1 INTRODUCTION In Unit 6 on the consumer movement in India, you have studied history and growth of consumer movement in the country and its influence. You must have realised that even while the consumer movement in our country has become strong and some important consumer organisations and activists have made a great impact, there are still many challenges facing the movement. In other countries on the other hand, the consumer movement has been very successful in terms of consumer being taken seriously. Some of them, of course, face problems; which are similar to India. Information exchange and dissemination is the need of the hour. In this unit, we will , attempt issue based comparison of consumer movement in some developed countries of America, Europe, and Asia. We shall also examine their pattern of development and features in the less developed countries. This will help you to draw the required lessons for India. 7.2 CONSUMER MOW?vENT IN AMERICA 1 Consumer movement, as a social movement to protect and augment the rights of consumers in relation to the producer, originated first in the United States of America in 1900. USA was the first country in which people raised their voice against the malpractices of the business community. Later, it spread to the other parts of tfre world. The United States has witnessed three distinct phases in the consumer movement; one in early 1900, another in mid 1930's and still another one in the mid 1960's. 24 Pre-Thirties Consumer Movement in - Select Countries The first consumer movement, which commenced in the pre-thirties, was the outcome of rising prices, ethical drug scandals, and other related factors. Uptron Sinclair in his book-'The Jungle' exposed shockingly insanitary conditions in the Chicago Meat Packing Plant. The quack cures of tuberculosis and cancer led to ethical drug scandals. These factors contributed to consumer awareness and the first phase of consumer movement began with protests and investigations. 'bo landmark laws were enacted in 1906Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act-towards protecting the interests of the consumers. The American Home Economics Association sponsored a campaign for fiber identification on textiles in 1918. Many consumers became vaguely conscious of the increasing complexity of the economic system and high prices of many articles. When the book 'Your Money's Worth', was published by Chase and Schlink in 1927, it I furnished a whipping boy for many consumer problems. The writers aroused the I consumers' consciousness of their position as never before. One major result was the I formation of Consumers' Research in 1929, the first independent agency to 'test and rate' products in general use and to report to the consumer subkcribers of the service. The Thirties The second phase of American Consumer movement was induced by factors like Great Depression and the Housewives' strike. A tragic case of cosmetic use that led to blindness made the American Consumers more conscious of their rights. This phase provided a sort of ideological background to the consumer movement. A flood of protest literature hit the markets. The book-'Your Money's Worth,' sold over 1 lakh copies. Then, books like '1,00,000,000 Guinea Pigs,' 'Counterfeit,' '40,000,000 Guinea Pig Children,' 'Eat, Drink and Be Merry' etc. were read by millions who thus became conscious of their needs and problems. Thus, the origin of the consumer movement can be traced to this literature. They helped to broaden the grass-root support for a consumer movement. During the 1930s, there appeared many periodicals devoted to consumer problems. These included bulletins of the testing and rating agencies-'Consumer's Research', 'Consumer's Union' and 'Consumer's Guide'. Consumers also sought help from the government. The first state consumer department was established In 1938. The emergence of Ralph Nader on the American horizon gave further fillip to the movement. Most of the credit for arousing consumer consciousness and making possible latest consumer legislation in the U.S.A. goes to him. This phase of consumer movement was marked by effective implementation of laws to protect consumer interest. Mid 60's In the 19609s,a new wave of consumerism developed. It was less economic and more % social in its orientation. It showed less concern for getting your money's worth and paid more attention to legislation aimed at correcting the imbalance of power between the buyers and sellers. There were many leaders during this period, but the best known of them and the most influential was Ralph Nader. His book, 'Unsafe at Any Speed' 4 (1965) and his successful lawsuit against General Motors were responsible for National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966. There followed a chain of consumer legislation that included Federal Hazardous Substances Act of 1966; the Wholesome Meat Act and Fair Packaging and Labelling Act of 1967; a number of Safety Acts for Natural Gas, poultry products, coal mines, medical devices; Infar~tMilk Formula Act, 1980 and Drug Prices Competition and Patent Restoration Act, 1984. Government began to develop new consumer rules and corporations started creating their own inhouse consumer departments. Different groups like senior citizens, students, etc. started advocating legislation to promote their interests. In the 1970's consumerism began to develop into a more mature but also a fragmented social movement. In the late 197OYs,the public became increasingly unwilling to support consumerist legislation. P L Consumer Movement Today, in America, consumerism continues to be a viable and active social movement. There are more than 400 state and local consumer groups with 2 million members. The movement has become diversified and institutionalized. Its base has broadened. One state level organisation which has really empowered the Consumers is the Citizen's Utility Board (CUB). Another is Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) which has worked to clean up toxic wastes with mainly students as its members. Check Your Progress Exercise 1 Note : i) Use the space given below for your answers. ii) Check your answer with the model answers given at the end of this unit 1) Fill in the blanks : a) America was the first country in which people raised their voice against .................................................... in .............................. b) Origin of consumer movement in America is contributed to the .......................................to ................................. 2) Xck mark the following statement True (T) or False (F) : a) First phase of Consumer Movement in America started in 1940. (T) (F) b) Consumer movement spread from America to other countries. (T) (F) C) Consumer movement in America is viable even today. (TI (F) d) Consumer movement in America succeeded with the total support of Government. 7.3 CONSUMER MOVEMENT IN EUROPE Though Consumer Co-operatives had great success in Europe, this did not result in formation of consumer organisations. Basically, industrialization did not lead to the same degree of affluence in Europe as in the United States. Consumer movement in Europe was fostered by the 'Consumers' Union'. More specifically, by the constant efforts of Colston Worne. As early as 1939, he started to make enquiries about groups and individuals that he might try to interest. In London he was referred to as the Householders' Association. But he was disappointed. People were not at all enthusiastic about testing. It took another two decades for U.K. to provide a congenial environment for consumer movement. Consumer movement in England began in a real sense only after the second world war. The common law did protect the consumer against aggressive selling, fraud and breach of promise. The British National Standard Institute in U.K. played a significant role in arousing the interest of the consumers in 1925. Many consumer magazines and shoppers' guides were published to educate the consumers. Consumer Associations came into existence to expose undesirable as well as defective products. It was Dorothy Goodman, an American living in London who along with Ray Goodman and Michael Young, founded the Consumers' Association (first called the 'Association for Consumer Research') in 1956. The first issue of its magazine 'Which' appeared in October 1951. Gradually, consumer organisations began to take shape in other countries. Befoue 1960, three major organisations had been founded in Europe: 'Consumen Tehand' in the Netherlands, the 'Union Belge des Consummateurs' (now the 'Association des Consommateurs') in Belgium and 'Union Federale de la Consommation' in France. All been publishing information for and about consumers, including reports on products they had tested themselves. A,cbnsumpr awakening of similar type also appeared in Netherlands in 1926. Between an;d 1957, there was consumer ievolution in Denmark, Federal Republic of kernany, Switzerland. Japan, Kenya, France, Hungary, Italy, Canada and Belgium. 6 Consumer Movement in Press campaigns in favour of the consumer in these countries played a significant role Select Countries in the creation of the concept of consumerism; Women's organisations in these countries have been a mainstay of the consumer movement.
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