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About Us
The American Consumer Council's (ACC) was established in 1987. Its
mission is to educate consumers on the purchase of safe, reliable
products and services, to serve as a voice for consumer advocacy and
economic wellness in the United States, to educate consumers in the area
of financial literacy and to recognize companies for their environmental
stewardship and corporate social responsibility.
ACC has over 115,000 members and oversees a network of 46 state and
regional consumer councils across the United States. ACC is also the
administrator of the Green C™
Certification program which certifies and recognizes deserving companies
and organizations for their commitment to environmental compliance and
corporate social responsibility. ACC
ACC’s origins began in 1985 with the formation of the California
Consumer Council (www.calconsumercouncil.org).
In 1987, ACC became a separate entity and in 1992 ACC was established as
its own nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(C)(3) foundation registered in the
State of California.
ACC fulfills its mission in three ways. First, ACC is a pro-active
consumer education organization and focuses on encouraging consumers to
purchase and use safe, reliable products/services. Secondly, ACC
partners with several nonprofit credit unions across America to educate
consumers on financial literacy and promote economic wellness for our
members. ACC’s financial literacy program is consistently rated as one
of the most popular financial literacy programs by educators and high
school students. Thirdly, ACC supports a network of 46 state and
regional consumer councils across the United States. Through our
consumer councils, we champion local consumer issues and recognize
deserving companies and organizations that offer outstanding products
and services and strengthen their local communities through corporate
support programs and volunteerism.
In cooperation with our network of credit unions, ACC recruits
members and encourages its members to make sound purchasing decisions
that will benefit consumer-friendly companies and American-based
businesses. We communicate with our members on a regular basis through
our conferences, education and training programs, and our two
newsletters – Consumer News & Views and the Voice of the
Consumer.
ACC is proud of its relationship with credit unions which are
nonprofit, membership organizations that have a proven track record for
community service and a strong commitment to their member-customers.
Through credit unions, ACC has been able to reach hundreds of thousands
of consumers and encourage them to become consumer advocates and
environmental stewards.
ACC is not a consumer hotline, consumer-complaint bureau, or
government regulatory organization. ACC has adopted a more proactive
approach with companies and organizations that provide products/services
to consumers. Our approach is to recognize and promote popular
products/services based on consumer acceptance, reliability and a proven
track record of performance. By encouraging consumers to support those
companies that manufacture and sell safe, reliable products/services,
ACC believes it can give these companies a competitive edge and, in
turn, challenge their competitors to improve their performance and
reliability standards. ACC believes that in the long-term this approach
is more effective than lawsuits, complaints, and additional regulation.
How ACC Benefits American Consumers
ACC has built its reputation for championing consumer advocacy by
encouraging manufacturers and service-based companies to make safe,
reliable products that American consumers can trust and recommend to
their friends and neighbors. While there are many different approaches
one can use to encourage companies to become consumer-centric, ACC has
found the most effective approach is to harness the combined economic
power of over 115,000 members to encourage companies to sell safe,
reliable products. In those instances where a company or industry is
found to have abused consumers, or offered a product/service that is
harmful to consumers or the environment, ACC has brought the full force
of its membership muscle and media relations program to persuade
consumers not to support deceitful businesses. In this era of social
networking and rapid global communication, ACC’s approach to enforcing
high standards on behalf of consumers has proven to be extremely
effective.
Governance
The American Consumer Council is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization.
Under its bylaws, ACC is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of
representatives from its membership and sponsoring member organizations.
ACC is managed by a large professional staff based in San Diego, CA and
Washington, D.C. For more information, please contact us at:
info@americanconsumercouncil.org
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