Whole Foods has led on plastics in the past, but the company recently got an "F" in a report by As You Sow for failing to tackle plastic pollution. Tell Whole Foods' CEO to get rid of single-use plastics in its stores.
Whole Foods has led on plastics in the past, but the company recently got an "F" in a report by As You Sow for failing to tackle plastic pollution. Tell Whole Foods' CEO to get rid of single-use plastics in its stores.
Consumer Protection
GM heeds consumer groups' advocacy, commits to not sell used cars with safety issues
We commend General Motors for its new commitment not to sell used vehicles with unrepaired safety recall defects on its soon-to-be-launched used car platform, CarBravo.
Health Care
Victory: Medical debt to be scrubbed from consumers' credit reports
One in 5 American households report having medical debt. Now, new credit industry policies will help keep that debt from hurting their credit.
Safe Energy
Report: Electric school buses are a win for our kids and our energy grid
What if we could keep pollution out of our air, help stave of climate disaster, and move toward a cleaner energy grid — all by investing in electric school buses for our kids?
Consumer Tips
In the market for a new phone or laptop? This scorecard will tell you which popular products are built to last.
Products that carry unnecessary restrictions on access to repair tools lead you to spend money replacing your devices instead of repairing them. And they harm our planet by contributing to our rapidly growing electronic waste problem.
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Iowa PIRG is your advocate for the public interest, speaking out for healthier, safer, more secure lives for all of us.
News & Research
Report | Iowa PIRG Education Fund
Two major recalls from the last seven months showcase the weaknesses in our food recall system: It often takes too long for companies and regulators to notify grocers, consumers, restaurants and food packagers, particularly regarding Class I recalls with a “reasonable probability” that exposure or use of the product could cause “serious adverse health consequences or death.” And once grocers find out, they aren’t required to contact customers who may have already purchased contaminated products. While many stores do quickly notify customers one way or another, the practices aren’t uniform and aren’t always timely. Meanwhile, people continue to get sick.
The CDC estimates that one in six Americans become ill every year from foodborne diseases. Among those, 128,000 wind up in the hospital and 3,000 die.
Blog Post
Wow. The FTC's consumer chief gave a powerful speech this week that essentially said "privacy notice and choice" are not enough in a surveillance-based economy. "When we’re expecting consumers to have to choose between participating in the digital economy and protecting their privacy, we’re not giving them a choice at all – what we’re really describing is coercion."
Cover image by g4||4is "Privacy. The "i" is a lock" via Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Blog Post
Consumer and health advocates urge final rules that offer full patient protections
News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund
When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled 225 varieties of bagged lettuce, spinach and salad products in December because of potentially deadly contamination, it took the FDA a week to post a public notice on its web site. While many stores quickly notify customers of recalls one way or another, they’re not required to, and their practices are neither uniform nor always timely.
RESOURCE
Coronavirus update
In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, we’ve taken steps for all of our staff to work remotely for safety reasons. But rest assured, we’ll keep advocating for you as we work for a healthier, safer world.
Learn more about how we can work together to address the COVID-19 pandemic.