The Swiss Alliance of Consumer Organisations, founded in 2010, is the

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

of the three

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

consumer organisations Consumer organizations are advocacy groups that seek to protect people from corporate abuse like unsafe products, predatory lending, false advertising, astroturfing and pollution. Consumer Organizations may operate via protests, litigation, ...

: * Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz (SKS, founded in 1964) of

German-speaking Switzerland The German-speaking part of Switzerland (german: Deutschschweiz, french: Suisse alémanique, it, Svizzera tedesca, rm, Svizra tudestga) comprises about 65 percent of Switzerland (North Western Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland, Central Switze ...

; * Fédération romande des consommateurs (FRC, founded in 1959) of

French-speaking Switzerland Romandy (french: Romandie or )Before World War I, the term French Switzerland (french: Suisse française) waalso used german: Romandie or , it, Romandia, rm, Romanda) is the French-speaking part of western Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 milli ...

; * Associazione consumatrici e consumatori della Svizzera italiana (ACSI, founded in 1975) of

Italian-speaking Switzerland The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Romansh. German, French, and Italian maintain equal status as official languages at the national level within the Federal Administration of the Swiss Confederation, ...

History

The earliest efforts for consumer protection in Switzerland emerged in the 19th century, with organisations such as the Konsumverein Zürich (founded in 1851), the first of a number of

consumers' co-operative A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such co-operatives operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a fo ...

s. Several of these formed the Verband Schweizerischer Konsumvereine (VSK, "Federation of Swiss Consumers' Co-operatives") in 1890. The VSK was renamed

Coop Coop, COOP, Co-op, or ''variation'', most often refers to: * A chicken coop or other enclosure * Cooperative or co-operative ("co-op"), an association of persons who cooperate for their mutual social, economic, and cultural benefit ** Housing co ...

in 1969. In post-war Switzerland, especially housewives were confronted with an explosion of new consumer goods choices, and they started to form their organisations to test products for safety and reliability. In 1959, the French-speaking Commission romande des consommatrices ( Romand Commission of Female Consumers", today the Fédération romande des consommateurs, FRC) was founded, followed in 1961 by the German- and Italian-speaking women's associations who formed the Konsumentinnenforum ("Female Consumers' Forum") in 1961, today known as the Konsumentenforum (kf, "Consumers' Forum"). In 1975 the Associazione Consumatrici della Svizzera italiana (ACSI, "Association of Female Consumers of Italian Switzerland") was formed in the

canton of Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

. All these consumer organisations were dominated and led by women, and thus some male consumers felt unrepresented. Moreover, the existing tended to focus on cooperation with the providers instead of solely advocating the rights of consumers. This led to the 18 June 1964 foundation of the Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz ("Consumer Protection Foundation"), dominated by men and aimed at improving consumer law, opposing discrimination and testing products. Later the gender-based organisations merged by language group; the three major language-based federations finally formed the Alliance of Consumer Organisations in 2010.

Notes and references

External links

*
Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz
*
Fédération romande des consommateurs
*
Associazione consumatrici e consumatori della Svizzera italiana
*

Supraorganizations Consumer rights organizations 2010 establishments in Switzerland Organisations based in Switzerland {{Organisation-stub

History

Notes and references

See also

External links