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Blog Post

Half of U.S. states looking to give Americans the Right to Repair | Nathan Proctor

25 states have introduced or carried over Right to Repair legislation so far this year

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Blog Post | COVID-19

Here’s what doctors think you should know when communicating about the COVID-19 vaccine | Henry Hintermeister

“We don’t attack those negative messages. We just have to profoundly overwhelm the senses with the positive messages — in addition to showing them the spot on your arm where you got the shot.”

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News Release | US PIRG

Statement: FDA plans to reduce toxic metal in baby food

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Friday it will adopt a plan aimed at reducing toxic substances in food for babies and toddlers.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Why Rohit Chopra is the consumer champion we need to head the Consumer Bureau | Aaron Colonnese

We can't let this chance to restore vital consumer protections slip through our fingers.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

FDA takes delayed action on toxic hand sanitizers | Henry Hintermeister

After 20 deaths and numerous cases of blindness and other injuries and illnesses last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning in February for all alcohol-based hand sanitizers imported from Mexico.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG

Statement: U.S. PIRG cheers bipartisan Congressional vote to end unfair surprise medical bills

After two years of debate in four congressional committees, Congress seemed likely to pass bipartisan legislation Monday that, if signed into law, will protect millions of consumers from unfair surprise medical bills from out-of-network providers. In response to the expected congressional passage of the surprise billing legislation, Patricia Kelmar, U.S. PIRG’s Health Care Campaigns director, made the following statement: “If passed, this will be the most far-reaching consumer protection that Congress has passed in recent memory...

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News Release | US PIRG | Consumer Tips, COVID-19

Money for nothing: Paying the same car insurance while driving less during the pandemic

While COVID-19 is causing financial difficulties for tens of millions of Americans, auto insurers nationwide have made tens of billions of dollars in profit because consumers have driven significantly less during the pandemic.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Financial Reform

Federal regulators, states file antitrust lawsuits against Facebook

Statement: "U.S. PIRG welcomes the Facebook lawsuits by 48 state and territorial attorneys general and federal regulators."

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | COVID-19

Statement on President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 task force

President-elect Joe Biden has announced the group of top health experts who will advise the incoming administration on efforts to contain the novel coronavirus.  

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Financial Reform

CFPB Approves Modified Final Debt Collection Rule

On Friday, the CFPB released a modified final version of its Debt Collection Rule, although it delayed action until December on one of its most controversial provisions, allowing collection of  time-barred zombie debt. A statement by Consumer Program Associate Lucy Baker follows.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

In Your Face

The negative health effects of asbestos are well-known. Most people may associate asbestos contamination with the workplace or decades-old construction material, but alarmingly, recent media reports have found asbestos contamination in kids' makeup from popular stores. U.S. PIRG Education Fund (PIRG) decided to do its own asbestos testing at an accredited laboratory.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Plugging In

The adoption of large numbers of electric vehicles (EVs) offers many benefits for cities, including cleaner air and the opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Electric vehicles are far cleaner than gasoline-powered cars, with lower greenhouse gas emissions and lower emissions of the pollutants that contribute to smog and particulate matter.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland 2017

For over 30 years, U.S. PIRG Education Fund has conducted an annual survey of toy safety, which has led to over 150 recalls and other regulatory actions over the years, and has helped educate the public and policymakers on the need for continued action to protect the health and wellbeing of children.

Toys are safer than ever before, thanks to decades of work by product safety advocates, parents, the leadership of Congress, state legislatures, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). 

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Lead In Fidget Spinners

While lead in toys has become less prevalent in recent years, U.S. PIRG Education Fund tested several models of one of today’s hottest toys, fidget spinners, for the toxic heavy metal. Laboratory results indicated that two fidget spinners purchased at Target and distributed by Bulls i Toy, L.L.C. contained extremely high levels of lead. U.S. PIRG Education Fund calls on Target and Bulls i Toy to immediately recall these two fidget spinners and investigate how such high levels of lead were found in these toys. Also, we call on the U.S.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Chain Reaction III

The third annual Chain Reaction report, which grades companies on their antibiotics policies and practices, found that 14 out of the top 25 restaurants in the U.S. have taken steps to restrict the routine use of antibiotics in the production of the chicken they serve, up from nine just one year ago. While restaurant chains made great progress on chicken, the groups who authored the report found that there were no new commitments to limit antibiotic use in beef and pork.

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Blog Post

Congress must reinstate Polluter Pays Tax to speed up toxic waste cleanups | Henry Hintermeister

The United States has a toxic waste problem. But as financial burden for cleaning up that waste has shifted primarily to taxpayers, cleanups are lagging behind.

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Blog Post

Mounting evidence: Asbestos in talc-based makeup (again) | Gina Werdel

Once again, product testing demonstrates that the risk of asbestos contamination in talc-based cosmetic products is simply too high to accept.

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Blog Post | Solid Waste

Elizabeth L. Cline: we need policy to stop new clothes from making a ‘straight line’ to the landfill | Olivia Sullivan

We hear from the author and journalist on secondhand clothing, the fashion industry’s addiction to cheap fossil fuels and how to break the waste cycle.

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Blog Post | Solid Waste

Jessica Schreiber: ‘It’s just too easy and convenient to throw things away’ | Olivia Sullivan

We need to make it easier for clothing companies to reuse and recycle. Policy, data collection and nonprofits can help.

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Blog Post

Farmers and legislators channel rural frustration as they push for tractor Right to Repair | Nathan Proctor

Farmers need software tools to fix their tractors but manufacturers such as John Deere won’t sell them, despite a 2018 agreement

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Blog Post

Zero Hunger campaign aims to end hunger on 10 college campuses

From Oregon to Kentucky, California to Maryland, students at college campuses across the country are teaming up to end student hunger by cutting food waste.

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Blog Post | Transportation

Our 'Driving into Debt' report highlights the impact of risky auto loans and car ownership

Talk about a captive market: For most of us, it's next to impossible to work, shop or go to school without a car. Auto lenders are taking full advantage.

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Blog Post | Solid Waste

More than 10,000 people pledge to skip the straw

More than 10,000 Americans said "no" to plastic straws in February. Feb. 22 marked the third annual national Skip the Straw Day—a day created by Michigan middle school students who were fed up with plastic pollution and its impact on wildlife and the planet.

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Blog Post

YouTube town hall attracts thousands who want the right to repair our stuff

If you're frustrated because it's easier to buy a new phone, computer or appliance than repair your old one, you're not alone.

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Blog Post | Public Health

Study finds weed killer in beer and wine

The last thing you want to think about when you pour yourself a glass of wine or a cold beer is whether it contains even small levels of a potentially carcinogenic weed killer.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG

Students host hundreds of local actions for Youth Earth Week

BOSTON - The Student PIRGs, a student environmental organizing group, is partnering with local organizations, student governments and elected officials to host in-person and virtual actions to celebrate Youth Earth Week, a national effort of more than 250 actions around the country to protect the environment, from April 19 to 23.

Blog Post

'Build Back Better' plan would transform America's aging infrastructure

The United States is in need of an infrastructure overhaul.

Blog Post

The costs of the digital divide are higher than ever. Repair can help.

Millions of Americans stand on the wrong side of the digital divide. It’s time we fix that.

Blog Post

Illegal warranty voiding highlights need for FTC action

When consumers don’t have time to wait for authorized repair, they shouldn’t be faulted for finding alternatives.

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

New survey: 43 major appliance companies void warranties for independent repair, despite consumer protection laws

A new survey from U.S. PIRG Education Fund finds all 43 appliance manufacturers we surveyed would consider voiding the warranty if a device had “unauthorized” repair, despite a 2018 warning from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Transportation

'Build Back Better' plan would transform America's infrastructure

President Biden's infrastructure package takes a fix-it-first approach toward repairing the nation's highways and bridges, and includes key provisions for expanding electric transportation, getting the lead out of drinking water, and strengthening the electric grid.

 

Solid Waste

Toxic waste cleanups are lagging. We need polluters to pay to clean up their messes.

The United States has a toxic waste problem. But as the financial burden for cleaning up that waste has shifted primarily to taxpayers, cleanups are lagging behind.

 

Solid Waste

Nation's strongest plastic waste bill returns to Congress

The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act would install a national bottle bill, ban some of the worst single-use plastics, and shift more financial responsibility for collecting and processing plastic waste onto plastics producers.

 

Solid Waste

To boost the country's recycling rates, we need an accurate measurement

The Environmental Protection Agency set a goal of boosting the United States' recycling rate from 32 to 50 percent by 2030. We commend this target — but there are a few things we first need to fix about how the agency counts "recycling."

 
  • STOP THE OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS
    The World Health Organization has identified antibiotic resistance as one of the top 10 global health threats. That's why reducing antibiotic overuse in food production is so important.
    TAKE ACTION
  • How safe is our food?
    Nationwide recalls ranging from romaine lettuce to millions of pounds of beef to Ritz and Goldfish crackers underscore that there’s a growing public health crisis we need to address.
    Find out
  • WATCH OUT FOR UNSAFE TOYS
    Our “Trouble in Toyland” report found boron in slime, choking hazards without the proper warning labels, “connected” toys that pose a privacy risk and more.
    GET THE FACTS
  • HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?
    One year after Equifax announced the worst data breach in history, a U.S. House committee has recommended weakening data breach laws. Tell Congress to protect Americans, not Equifax.
    TAKE ACTION

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