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Report | CoPIRG Foundation, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Frontier Group | Consumer Protection

Consumers in Peril

A review of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s public complaint database finds that consumer complaints about financial grievances spiked during the pandemic year of 2020, eclipsing 2019, the previous record year. Analysis of complaint volumes and the types of complaints received shows that, as consumers dealt with the economic fallout of the pandemic, they increasingly faced  problems with financial companies.

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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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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation | Solid Waste

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.

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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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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation | Solid Waste

Don’t Toss Your Pumpkins and Leaves, Compost Them

Recycling advocates have a message to residents who are dutifully raking and bagging up their leaves – don’t toss them in a trash bin, compost them. That goes for Jack-O’-Lantern’s too. At an event at Denver’s Recycling and Compost drop off site, they highlighted that organic items like leaves and pumpkins make up roughly 50% of residential waste that can be composted either by bringing them to a drop off site or by signing up for the city’s residential compost program and putting them in your own curbside green cart.  

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News Release | Consumer Protection

U.S. PIRG CONSUMER ADVOCATE MIKE LITT TESTIFIES AT CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON EQUIFAX

Our Consumer Advocate, Mike Litt, was invited by Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, to testify this week at a Congressional hearing on the Equifax data breach. This was a continuation of the committee's previously held hearing on October 5th entitled "Examining the Equifax Data Breach."

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation | Transportation

41 Local Government Leaders Sign Letter Supporting Bustang

Today, CoPIRG Foundation Director Danny Katz delivered a letter to the Transportation Commissioners for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) celebrating the success of Bustang, the statewide bus service, and showing support for continued expansion. The letter was signed by 41 mayors, city councilors, trustees and county commissioners from communities along the Bustang routes including Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Idaho Springs, Summit County, Eagle County, Vail, Avon, and Glenwood Springs.    

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News Release | CoPIRG Foundation and Frontier Group | Consumer Protection

Colorado Ranks Ninth for Most Consumer Complaints Per Capita by Older Americans

Colorado ranked 9th for most complaints per capita by older Americans according to an analysis of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) consumer complaint database. Mortgages were the leading source of 72,000 national complaints to the CFPB and the leading source of the over 1,300 complaints from older Coloradans. Complaints about credit reports, debt collection, and credit cards rounded out the top four according to the analysis from the CoPIRG Foundation and the Frontier Group. 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Antibiotics

New Scorecard Grades Top Restaurant Chains On Antibiotic Use In Meat Supply

Denver: More than half of the largest 25 chain restaurants in the U.S. have taken steps to restrict routine antibiotic use in their chicken supply chains, according to a new scorecard released today by a group of consumer, environmental and public health organizations. That’s good news given that the misuse of antibiotics in meat production puts our health at risk by breeding drug-resistant bacteria.

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Blog Post | Transportation

Transportation policy is health policy | Sean Doyle

While transportation is often just thought of as how we get from point A to point B, the way we choose to do so can have important consequences on our physical health, air quality, safety, the development of our cities, and how we interact within them.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

30 Years of "Trouble in Toyland," 30 Years of Safety Improvements | Anna Low-Beer

Every year, U.S. PIRG Education Fund releases Trouble in Toyland, a report on toy safety which examines toys bought at major national retailers, looking for safety hazards including toxic toys, choking hazards, labeling violations, powerful magnets, and excessibely loud toys. We continue to find these hazards on store shelves, which indicates the need for continued vigilance and adequate enforcement of safety regulations. But despite lingering dangers, in the last 30 years, we've come a long way in terms of both policy and compliance with standards.

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Blog Post | Transportation

Millennials Want More Public Transportation

A new poll shows that access to public transportation is “very important” for Millennials in considering where to live and where to work.  The results support our research over the past few years that found Millennials are driving less than older generations and are more prone to walk, bike, or take transit to get where they need to go.

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Blog Post | Transportation

Communities Roaring for More TIGER Grants | Sean Doyle

Across the country, municipalities are looking for more transportation funding, particularly for public transportation. A recent poll from Politico magazine found that among mayors, aging and deteriorating transportation infrastructure was the most often cited concern. Enter TIGER grants.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

We went to a VW Dealership today | Danny Katz

Today, I went to a VW dealership with one of the 482,000 VW owners who unknowingly purchased a “clean” diesel vehicle that was designed to get away with violating the law. I went there to encourage dealerships to join with VW customers and call on VW to give people their money back for these misleading vehicles.

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Blog Post

Free RTD buses and trains in August could make a big impact on a lot of people’s lives but success depends on all of us climbing on board

Transit will be free all day, every day in August for every RTD train, bus and shuttle. This one-month pilot presents an incredible opportunity to make a significant impact on people’s lives in the short-run and to build momentum for a significant improvement in transit in the long-run. That is, if we all get on board. 

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

STATEMENT: Flyers embarking on holiday travel should know their rights

As travelers try to navigate air travel this holiday weekend and in the weeks ahead, they should know their rights to a refund under federal law, and understand airlines’ policies on credits and vouchers, which flyers don’t have to accept when the airline cancels the flight.

News Release | CoPIRG Foundation

Polluter tax to clean up Superfund sites kicks in Friday

After decades of taxpayers bearing the cost of cleaning up toxic waste sites, a new tax on companies that produce chemicals will kick in Friday to pay for toxic waste clean up. The so-called “polluter pays” tax will give the EPA’s “Superfund” program, which is responsible for cleaning up the most hazardous waste sites in the country, a major boost and help to free many Coloradans from the threat of deadly toxic waste.

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Release: New policy in effect erasing paid medical debt from credit reports

Consumer tips on how to check your credit report accuracy

Blog Post

How to minimize food waste this 4th of July

Planning ahead and getting creative with leftovers reduces food waste for a fun, sustainable celebration.

Solid Waste

PIRG hosts webinar with MythBusters' Adam Savage on Right to Repair

Our national network and the Right to Repair team organized a summit featuring keynote speaker Adam Savage from MythBusters. He shared his thoughts with us on the movement and we discussed our current progress on the Right to Repair campaign.

 
  • 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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