COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS OF CONSUMER PROTECTIVE LEGISLATION

Many government agencies are involved in consumer protection legislation. The research summarized here seems to indicate their communication of this legislation to the consumer has been "not very effective. " Although a large percentage of the respondents were aware of the efforts to protect consumers, a disquieting number displayed an "I don’t care " attitude. CONSUMERLSM is a national movement that has received support not only from the citizens of the land, but also from large numbers of political leaders, the mass media, educators, government agencies,. and spokesmen of almost every persuasion from the right to the left, the rich and the poor, the white and the black. In March, 1962, President John F. Kennedy stated in a directive to the Consumer Advisory Council: Additional legislative and administrative action is required, however, if the federal government is to meet its responsibility to the consumers in the exer-cise of their rights. These rights include: ( i) the right of safety; ( Z) the right to be informed; (3) the right to choose; and (4) the right to be heard.’ Consumer agencies at the city, state, and federal levels have since proliferated by the score, some openly competitive of each other and others certainly repetitious. ’ The number of pieces of legis-lation at all levels, that are awaiting discussion, debate, and passage.. number in the thousands. The various groups involved in consumer protection are concerned with dozens of different facets: foodstuffs, transportation, cosmetics, drugs, toys, medicine, appliances, credit, pollution, foreign merchandise, and many others. They have at-tempted to communicate their concern to the consumer in many- different ways, through a variety of channels, and in various net--works. ’. How successful has this communication proved to be? How have consumers reacted? How high has been their level of interest? In an effort to secure partial answers to these questions, in the narrow area of food, a small sample of consumers in the central Los Angeles _ area was surveyed in mid-1974.