Consumer protection is a standing practice in which businesses are watched closely to ensure that they are running their practices legally and that they are being fair in regards to the consumer market. Consumer protection laws are used to help decrease the prevalence of monopolies and ensure that the consumer is still the main concern with companies.
Consumer protection and consumer advocacy bring the intentions of the company and products together with the necessity of the customers and the market that they are in. Furthermore, consumer protection requires that companies provide detailed information about their products. By understanding what is in products, how they were created, and what was used in them, companies can ensure that their products are safe. This is often the case regarding food-related companies.
Essentially consumer protection requires, by law, that the companies disclose important information regarding their products in order to keep the consumers informed and educated about what they are consuming. This is one of the six main rights that consumers have.
Furthermore, because the consumer advocacy laws help to prevent monopolies from forming, they spawn competition between companies. When competition occurs, the prices of goods and services can decrease all around in order to provide for the market’s needs, which is beneficial to the consumer directly because they save money.
Overall, consumer protection and advocacy laws were created in order to ensure that all consumers have a fair shot at the products they desire or require without the threat of being overpowered or unfairly charged by businesses.