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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

Hack doesn’t absolve Equifax of being careless with consumers’ data

Congress must hold companies accountable for failing to protect condumers' confidential information.

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation and the Denver Streets Partnership | Transportation

As Denver B-cycle closes, advocates call for micromobility expansion to every neighborhood

After nearly a decade of operations, the Denver Streets Partnership (DSP) gathered on Thursday to say goodbye to Denver’s B-cycle program and release a vision for its replacement - micromobility options like pedal and electric-assisted bikes (e-bikes), electric scooters, and whatever other two-wheeled or one-wheeled modes develop, available in every neighborhood in Denver. The coalition highlighted how a robust micromobility network could help Denver meet critical goals around reducing climate and air pollution, transportation-related deaths, and the number of people traveling alone in vehicles. 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Deadly infant products sold after recalls at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that discount stores T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods sold 19 different recalled products to consumers between 2014 and 2019. In the case of five products, the stores’ parent company TJX initiated the recall. The products included the Rock ‘N Play and Kids II inclined infant sleepers, which are responsible for a number of fatalities, rattles that can break and pose a choking hazard, and electronics that overheat or explode.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Solid Waste

New study outlines issues, case studies and remedies for U.S. recycling across the country

Recycling challenges vary across the country, but, overall, states are failing to both reduce unnecessary waste and adjust to a changing recycling landscape, according to a new study from U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Environment America Research & Policy Center.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Public Health

CDC estimates at least 35,000 die from drug-resistant infections annually

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its new Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States report, which estimates at least 35,000 Americans die annually from infections that antibiotics can no longer effectively treat.

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation | Transportation

GoI70.Com Highlights Car-free Ways to Get to the Slopes

As tens of thousands of Coloradans prepare to trek from the Front Range to the ski slopes for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the I-70 Coalition and CoPIRG Foundation released an updated website – GoI70.com – that highlights 12 services people can use to get to the slopes without driving their personal car. The website also provides information about travel patterns to help people organize the best times to travel, connects travelers with mountain deals that can reduce congestion at peak times, and links to real-time traffic information. 

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

32nd Annual “Trouble in Toyland” Survey Finds Dangerous Toys on Store Shelves

Stores nationwide are still offering dangerous and toxic toys this holiday season and, in some cases, ignoring explicit government safety regulations in the process, according to Colorado Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Foundation’s 32nd annual Trouble in Toyland report. The report exposes fidget spinners full of lead, inadequately-labeled toys and balloons that pose a choking hazard, and data-collecting toys that may violate children’s privacy and other consumer protection laws. We also provide a list of toys that have been recalled over the past year.

 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Target Removes Lead-Laden Fidget Spinners from Store Shelves

Today, Target announced that it will be removing two fidget spinner models that contain well over the legal limit of lead for children’s toys from its store shelves. Target had initially balked at our request to do so, citing a Consumer Product Safety Commission rule stating that general use products directed at adults don’t need to follow the same lead guidelines as children’s products directed at children 12 and under. These two models of fidget spinners, the Fidget Wild Premium Spinner Brass and the Fidget Wild Premium Spinner Metal, were labeled for ages 14 and up.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Target Removes Lead-Laden Fidget Spinner From Website, But Still Available For Sale In-Store

Since late yesterday afternoon, Target appears to have made the 33,000 ppm-lead containing Fidget Wild Premium Spinner Brass unavailable for sale on its website. U.S. PIRG Education Fund staff went to a Target store today and found the Fidget Wild Premium Spinner Brass was still available for sale in-store, despite the website saying it was unavailable there. Also yesterday, one of the CPSC’s Commissioners, Elliot F. Kaye, re-stated his opposition to the CPSC’s guidance and the acting chairman's statement when he tweeted, “Seems obvious fidget spinners are toys and should comply with all applicable federal safety standards.”

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation | Budget, Tax, Transportation

Do Roads Pay for Themselves?

Highways do not – and, except for brief periods in our nation’s history, never have – paid for themselves through the taxes that highway advocates label “user fees.” Yet highway advocates continue to suggest they do in an attempt to secure preferential access to scarce public resources and to shape how those resources are spent.

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation | Safe Energy

Smart Savings

There are many practical ways to use energy more efficiently to save Coloradans money and protect public health.  Our report looks at 10 different policies.

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation | Budget, Tax

Following the Money 2010

The ability to see how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy. This report rates the 50 States in how well they provide online access to government spending data.

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation | Transportation

Transportation Freedom Day 2010

To highlight the differences in transportation costs per city, CoPIRG released data from the Center of Neighborhood Technology that calculated each city’s Transportation Freedom Day - the date in which a typical household has earned enough to cover its annual transportation costs. That day tends to arrive earlier for residents of cities with more car-alternatives to getting around.

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Report | CoPIRG Foundation | Transportation

Colorado's Transportation Crossroads

Colorado’s transportation network does a poor job of meeting the needs of the state’s residents.  Expanding public transportation can provide more Coloradans with alternatives to driving, while laying the foundation for an efficient transportation system for the 21st century.

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Blog Post

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

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

News Release | CoPIRG Foundation

Lack of repair options for Colorado farmers has Deere in the Headlights

CoPIRG Foundation, the Rocky Mountain Farmers’ Union, and Colorado farmers released Deere in the Headlights, a report revealing how difficult it is for farmers to get the tools they need to fix their equipment.

Blog Post

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

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

Blog Post

Victims of Texas storm: Here are tips to keep yourself, your pets, your home and your finances safe

Here are some tips to help consumers protect themselves during and after a disaster, including how to spot possible opportunists, bad deals and con-artists.

Blog Post

Brooke Roberts-Islam: a challenge to reducing fashion waste comes from ordering and producing ‘high volumes’ of clothing

We hear from the fashion industry expert and journalist on tech solutions to clothing overstock problems and how policy can drive industry change

  • COVID-19 CONSUMER TIPS
    Avoid online scams, protect your credit and more. We have assembled a set of consumer tips and guides, and will add more in the days to come.
    OUR TIPS
  • THE FIX IS IN
    Our survey shows that independent shops are struggling to access parts, service information and repair software which is necessary to fix phones — which manufacturers won’t let these independent shops have.
    OUR REPORT
  • FOOD RECALL FAILURE
    Will your supermarket warn you about hazardous food? Our survey grades 26 of the largest grocery stores in the country to determine the efficacy of their policies and practices notifying consumers about food recalls.
    OUR REPORT
  • CHAIN REACTION V
    The overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can cause life-threatening infections in people. Our report ranks restaurant chains on their policies relating to antibiotic use in their beef supply chains.
    SEE THE GRADES

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