The Swedish Consumers' Association (Swedish: Sveriges Konsumenter) is a collaborative consumer organization based in Sweden that works for consumers' interests through increased consumer power. It is an independent, democratically anchored organisation that works through lobbying, opinion formation, and public education. Behind the organization are 19 member organisations. [1] The Swedish Consumers' Association is a member of Consumers International, BEUC, and ANEC.
Swedish Consumers' Association acts nationally, internationally, and within the EU. The organisation owns the consumer test magazine Råd & Rön. [2]
The organization focuses on giving all consumers more power, increased safety, and better possibilities to consume sustainably and consciously. The Swedish Consumer Association works on a wide range of consumer issues, but specifically when it comes to consumer rights, food, excess consumerism, banking services, accessibility, integrity online, and sustainable consumption.
The organization often pursues substantive issues in the form of projects. The Fair Finance Guide [3] is an international initiative to increase transparency in how sustainably banks invest.
The consumer prize Blåslampan [4] is awarded every year by The Swedish Consumers' Association and the magazine Råd & Rön. It goes to a person, organization och company that has protected the interests of consumers in an inspiring and innovative way. The winner receives 10 000 kronor, an antique blowtorch trophy, and a subscription to Råd & Rön – and of course, the honor.
Swedish Consumers' Association was founded in 1992 to strengthen the role of consumers in Sweden and the EU. A main reason was the EU, which opened up influence in various bodies for non-profit consumer organizations.
In 2006 the organization took over the ownership of the magazine Råd & Rön from the Consumer Agency. [5] And in the same year the name was changed from The Swedish Consumer Council to The Swedish Consumers' Association.
Since 2008 the Swedish Consumers' Association has offered consumer counseling in municipalities and organizations through KonsumentCentrum. [6]
The foreign policy of Sweden is based on the premise that national security is best served by staying free of alliances in peacetime in order to remain a neutral country in the event of war. In 2002, Sweden revised its security doctrine. The security doctrine still states that "Sweden pursues a policy of non-participation in military alliances," but permits cooperation in response to threats against peace and security. The government also seeks to maintain Sweden's high standard of living. These two objectives require heavy expenditures for social welfare, defense spending at rates considered low by Western European standards, and close attention to foreign trade opportunities and world economic cooperation.
The Green Party is a political party in Sweden based on green politics.
Fairtrade International, or Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International E.V. is a product-oriented multistakeholder group aimed at promoting the lives of farmers and workers through trade. Fairtrade's work is guided by a global strategy focused on ensuring that all farmers earn a living income, and agricultural workers earn a living wage. Fairtrade works with farmers and workers of more than 300 commodities. The main products promoted under the Fairtrade label are coffee, cocoa, banana, flowers, tea, and sugar.
Which? is a United Kingdom brand name that promotes informed consumer choice in the purchase of goods and services by testing products, highlighting inferior products or services, raising awareness of consumer rights, and offering independent advice. The brand name is used by the Consumers' Association, a registered charity and company limited by guarantee that owns several businesses, including Which? Financial Services Limited, Which? Legal Limited and Which? Limited, which publishes the Which? Papers.
The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise or Swedish Enterprise is a major employers' organization for private sector and business sector companies in Sweden. It has 49 member associations representing 60,000 member companies with more than 1.6 million employees.
International Consumer Research & Testing (ICRT) is a global consortium of more than 40 consumer organisations dedicated to carrying out joint research and testing in the consumer interest.
Ecolabels and Green Stickers are labeling systems for food and consumer products. The use of ecolabels is voluntary, whereas green stickers are mandated by law; for example, in North America major appliances and automobiles use Energy Star. They are a form of sustainability measurement directed at consumers, intended to make it easy to take environmental concerns into account when shopping. Some labels quantify pollution or energy consumption by way of index scores or units of measurement, while others assert compliance with a set of practices or minimum requirements for sustainability or reduction of harm to the environment. Many ecolabels are focused on minimising the negative ecological impacts of primary production or resource extraction in a given sector or commodity through a set of good practices that are captured in a sustainability standard. Through a verification process, usually referred to as "certification", a farm, forest, fishery, or mine can show that it complies with a standard and earn the right to sell its products as certified through the supply chain, often resulting in a consumer-facing ecolabel.
Consumers International is the membership organization for consumer groups around the world. Founded on 1 April 1960, it has over 250 member organizations in 120 countries. Its head office is situated in London, England, and has numerous regional offices in Latin America, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
Charlie Andreas Weimers is Swedish politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Sweden since 2019. He is a member of the Sweden Democrats, part of European Conservatives and Reformists.
Nature and Youth Sweden is a Swedish organisation for youth interested in nature studies and environmental protection founded in 1947 associated with the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
The Muslim Council of Sweden is an umbrella organisation of Islamic organisations in Sweden. It was founded in 1990 by representatives of the United Islamic Parishes in Sweden and the Muslim Association of Sweden. The current chairperson of the organisation is Helena Benaouda, who succeeded Mostafa Kharraki.
The European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB) is a European interest group representing cooperative banks in the European Union (EU) and five non-European countries. Established in 1970, the non-profit association "represents, promotes and defends" the common interests of its 26 member institutions and 2.700 cooperative banks regarding banking as well as cooperative legislation.
Islam in Sweden is the practice of Islam in Sweden, as well as historical ties between Sweden and the Islamic world. Viking contact with Islam dates back to the 7th–10th centuries, when the Vikings traded with Muslims during the Islamic Golden Age. Since the late 1960s and more recently, immigration from predominantly Muslim countries has impacted the demographics of religion in Sweden, and has been the main driver of the spread of Islam in the country.
The Brewers of Europe is a Brussels-based organisation representing national brewers' associations to the European Union. It was founded in 1958 as the "Communauté du travail des Brasseurs du Marché Commun – C.B.M.C." before becoming "Brewers of Europe" in 2001. The organisation represents the interests of more than 10,000 breweries in 29 European countries, employing more than 200,000 people and producing around 40 billion litres of beer per year. It aims to promote and protect the European brewing industry, working with policy makers and stakeholders to create a favourable regulatory environment for European brewers. The Brewers of Europe is also committed to promoting responsible beer consumption and environmental sustainability in the brewing industry. They have developed initiatives such as “BeerWisdom” which aims to encourage responsible beer consumption, “Proud to be clear” which calls the brewers to be transparent on labelling ingredients and the "Brewers Forum" which brings together European brewers to discuss key industry issues such as environmental sustainability, innovation and consumer trends. The Brewers of Europe is led by a president elected by the members of the organization for a three-year term. The current president is Lasse Aho. The organization is also supported by a Secretary General based in Brussels, which provides advice and support to the organization’s members.
Sustainable products are those products that provide environmental, social and economic benefits while protecting public health and environment over their whole life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials until the final disposal.
The European Consumer Organisation, from the French name Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs, "European Bureau of Consumers' Unions") is an umbrella consumers' group, founded in 1962. Based in Brussels, Belgium, it brings together 45 European consumer organisations from 32 countries.
Alfons Karabuda, born 2 December 1967 in Stockholm, Sweden, is a Swedish composer and EU cultural politics personality.
The Association of Swedish Engineering Industries is a Swedish trade organization representing employers of multinational engineering and industrial manufacturing companies. The member companies operate in a range of sectors that include telecommunications, fabricated metal products, electronics, machinery and equipment, office machinery and apparatus, power industry, instrument technology, optics, motor cars and transport equipments. The association’s main objective is to assist the employers of its member companies with various industry policies and labor law guidelines, collective agreement negotiations with labor unions as well as regular publication of economic policy and trend analysis reports. The association also maintains an established task force to promote initiatives in technological innovation, research collaboration between universities and companies as well as design thinking that ultimately can enhance the global competitiveness of Sweden’s industrial sector. The association has 4,000 member companies with over 300,000 employees.
The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation is a non-profit, non-partisan, Swedish environmental organization. It is the largest and oldest environmental society in Sweden, with 24 county branches and 270 municipality subdivisions. In 2019, it had 230,000 members.
Sankt Ignatios Foundation is an inter-Orthodox Christian ecumenical and education organisation in Sweden. The foundation represents a collaboration between four Orthodox traditions, the Byzantine, the Syriac, the Coptic and the Tewahedo (Eritrean-Ethiopian).