2.1 Background
Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy delivered an address containing a declaration of four basic consumer rights, in 1962:
- The right to safety
- The right to be informed
- The right to choose
- The right to be heard
The consumer movement, through Consumers International, 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
These fundamentals of consumer protection became formally recognized within the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection, first published in 1985 and expanded to include sustainable consumption in 1999.
ISO’s decision to establish COPOLCO was motivated partly in response to the worldwide consumer movement. By then, consumers had already begun organizing campaigns to address their concerns with such issues as product safety and environmental protection.
At its first meeting in 1978, COPOLCO defined a consumer as “an individual member of the general public, purchasing or using goods, property or services for private purposes” (COPOLCO Resolution 9/1978). The consumer is understood to be the end-user. This definition also appears within the ISO/IEC Statement on consumer participation in standardization work.
The ISO Working Group on social responsibility also has developed a definition of a consumer representative within the context of that work.
Guidance on Stakeholder Categories in the ISO/TMB/WG SR
www.iso.org/sr - Document N48, Rev.1