How standards help

Standards are relevant and inclusive

• Have you ever wondered why you can use your bank card anywhere in the world?
• Or been thankful that the dashboard symbols in the Japanese car you have hired in Australia or Thailand are the same as in your own French car at home in Norway?
• Or that you can watch video footage (MPEG) delivered via the Web on any of the different computers you have access to?
• Or noticed that your baby’s toy has no sharp edges?

It is because they comply with technical specifications which have been codified into voluntary agreements, called standards.

Standards are developed within an open process that provides the opportunity for all stakeholders, including consumers, to express their views and to have those views considered.

Consensus-based standardization within ISO ensures the fairness and effectiveness of standards ... and confidence in their use. For more about standards in our daily lives, see The ISO Café.

Consumer Rights

Standards are an integral element of consumer protection, as they often underpin national legislation and certification schemes. The fundamentals of consumer protection are enshrined in the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection and have their origins in former US President John F. Kennedy’s declaration of four basic consumer rights:

• the right to safety
• the right to be informed
• the right to choose
• the right to be heard

To these, the consumer movement through Consumers International has added four more rights:

• the right to satisfaction of basic needs
• the right to redress
• the right to education
• the right to a healthy environment

International Standards support these basic consumer rights by helping to raise levels of quality, safety, reliability, efficiency and interchangeability, and provide these benefits economically.