PREPARED BY

PREMUJA M. NAIR

MBAUCC

Consumerism is an organized movement of citizens and government to strengthen the rights and power of buyers in relation to the sellers.

Consumer movement in the present form came into being only in the 1930's in the West and only in the 60's in India.

The basic objectives of consumer movement world wide are as follows :

Recognition of reasonable consumer requests

Protection against fraud, misrepresentation, unsanitary and unjust products

Management of aspects affecting

consumers

Promoting consumers interests

In India, the basic reasons for the consumer movement are:- Shortage of consumer products;

Inflation of early 1970′s.

Adulteration and the Black Market.

Lack of product choices due to lack of development in technology.

On availability, purity and prices.

Consumerism as an ideology appeared for the first time in Western Europe. Consumerism gave rise to certain conditions:-• Economic progress.• Expanding trade• The rise of small shops• The rise of individualism.• Growth of cities.• The breakdown of traditional status

boundaries.

Era 1,1900s. Focused on the need for a banking system, product purity, postal rates, antitrust regulations

Era 2,1930s–1955 Issues were product safety, bank failures, labeling, misrepresentation, stock manipulation, deceptive ads, credit and consumer refunds.

Era 3,1960s –1980 Emphasis on consumer rights.

Era 4, 1980s. Consumerism entered mature phase due to gains of Era 3. Emphasis on business deregulation and self-regulation.

since 1990s. Government’s role has been to balance consumer and business rights, along with slightly stepped-up enforcement.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy presented a the following fundamental rights of the consumer.

The right to safety

The right to be informed

The right to choose

The right to be heard

India has an ancient history of consumer protection.

Kautilya's 'Arthasasthra was the basic law.

In 1960 an all India seminar on consumer co-operatives was held

From the Third Five Year plan onwards, development of consumer co-operatives andPDS by the governments to make them viable

Act is the milestone to the socio-economic legislation in the country.

The very first act made in India to know the unfair trade practices done to the customers.

Main objective to provide better consumer protection.

Speedy and in expensive procedures

As under section -6 of The Consumer Protection

Act,1986 the customer has the following rights:

1) Right to Basic Needs;

2) Right to Safety;

3) Right to Choice;

4) Right to Information;

5) Right to Consumer Education;

6) Right to Redressed;

7) Right to Healthy Environment

Consumers have the right to be protected against products and services that are hazardous to health and life

Deontological – irrespective of the costs, if life is endangered, those costs should be incurred

Teleological – by incurring additional costs lower income consumers get priced out of the market. Is that desirable?

The consumer has the right to be protected against• Fraudulent• Deceitful or grossly misleading

Information, • Advertising, • Labeling, or other practices,

Consumers have the right to assured access, to a variety of products and services at competitive prices.• Color• Brand• Quantity• Rates

Consumers have the right to be assured that consumer interests will receive full and sympathetic consideration in the formulation of Government policy and fair and expeditious treatment in its administrative tribunals

Environmental issues

Pollution issues

Short supply of many goods and services.

Lack of effective or workable competition.

Many products in advanced countries are still new to a very large segment of the Indian consumers

Consumerism in India is not well organized and developed.

Laws to safeguard the interests of consumersare not effectively implemented.

CERC (Consumer Education and Research Centre), Ahmedabad

FEDCOT (Federation of Consumer Organisations in Tamil Nadu)

Consumer Guidance Society of India, Mumbai

CUTS (Consumer Unity of Trust Society), Jaipur

CONCERT (Centre for Consumer Education Research, Teaching, Training and Testing), Chennai

Bureau of Indian Standards, Chennai