A fair marketplace doesn't happen by accident.
Someone has to study how it breaks. Someone has to push back when it does. The Consumer Advocacy Institute does both — through research and through the courts.
Academic Research
We fund the papers — and the people writing them — that document unfair and deceptive practices in plain, defensible terms.
Learn about the fellowshipAided Litigation
When we see a practice that's costing consumers, we look into it. If it's actionable, we help bring the case.
Report a practiceTwo things, done well.
We do two things — fund the academic research that makes harm visible, and aid the litigation that ends it. Everything you see here is in service of one of those two.
Evidence before argument
Careful, peer-reviewed research is the most durable foundation for consumer protection. We fund it directly — to the scholar, not the institution.
Consumers first
Every submission we receive — every product, fee, label, or claim — is reviewed by a real person and answered. We do not run a complaint database; we run an inquiry desk.
Only when the law supports it
We don't bring marginal cases. When the facts and the law allow, we partner with experienced consumer-protection counsel to bring the case — and to win it.
Have you seen something that looks unfair or deceptive?
If a product, fee, label, claim, or practice doesn't sit right with you — send it to us. We commit to looking into every credible submission, and we'll write back.