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Founding & Early Years

In 1927, F.J. Schlink and Stuart Chase published their best selling novel, Your Money's Worth, which saw massive readership due to the consumer movement. The demand for brand research led to Schlink to found the company Consumers Research in 1927. The company was responsible for publishing Consumers’ Research Bulletin (previously named Consumer Club Commodity List). The subscriber count in 1933 was reported to be over 42,000. It was in this year, that Consumer Research moved its operations to New York City. Following this move, employees began to unionize, citing unfair pay. Schlink proceeded to fire the strikers. The former Consumers Research employees, teamed up with "journalists, engineers, academics, and scientists" to found the company Consumers Union in February 1936. Consumers Union differentiated themselves from Consumer Research by establishing a community amongst readers. Within the overall mission of creating more informed consumers, Consumers Union united with women's clubs and citizen groups, creating a progressive message. Consumers Union would surpass Schlink's Consumers' Research in subscribers by 1940, accumulating a readership of 71,000.

Resistance

Numerous business and corporations set out to suppress the actions of Consumers Union. In an effort to suppress the critiques of Consumers Union, The New York Herald Tribune established an institute with the goal of demonstrating that the efforts of consumers groups were futile, in that businesses already conducted extensive product-testing. The Crowell Institute on Consumer Relations founded in 1937, sprouted from the forum Woman's Home Companion, which had a readership of 2 million. The institute suppressed the efforts of consumer groups by giving business and advertisers the platform to putdown the consumers' pursuit of "lower distribution costs, grade labeling, and regulation," asserting that these were businesses were already taking these factors into account. The New York Times proved to be an obstacle for Consumers Union, refusing CU's requests to advertise. Other major publications would follow suit.

In the year 1938, CU would find itself at the center of The Dies Committee's investigation into "unpatriotic propoganda." The committee brought on former member of Consumers' Research' board, J.B. Matthews as it's research director. In Matthews' official report, he accused CU and it's CEO Arthur Kallet of holding Communist ideals, and going as far as to label CU as "Conumminst front." The smear campaign was criticized by Consumers Union for its lack of legitimacy. The allegations proved fruitless, and rather served to deligitimize CR and Congressman Dies.

Role in Consumer Movement

Consumers Union established themselves as an advocate for consumer rights during the interwar years. The rise of Consumers Union happpened simultaneously with women's groups interest in consumption. Despite the mobilization of citizens interested in consumption, the pursuit of consumer rights were not validated until the New Deal. The programs represented an acknowledgment of the consumer movement, by actively working to improve consumer purchaser power.

In World War II, Consumer Union took a stance in support of the war effort. The urged their supporters to put aside their personal interest by consuming less, and following the government ordered policies of consumption. They were also critical of businesses who saw the war period as an opportunity to advertise their products and as a result were wasting paper. The government's vested interest in the politics of consumption would escalate in the postwar period. Government would encourage to consume both through propoganda as well as the protections instituted to promote individual consumption.