On AlterNet: consumer

Stories, blog posts, and videos tagged as "consumer"

Medical Credit Cards -- Future $150 Billion Industry Preys on Need for Easy Money

Joan Retsinas, Progressive Populist. December 28, 2010.

Do you want to have perfect teeth? Just sign on the dotted line. The terms sound generous: no down payment, 60 months of easy payments. But the interest will bite.

Cable Companies' $46+ Billion Robbery -- Subscribers Have Been Ripped off for $5 a Month Since 2000

David Rosen, Bruce Kushnick, AlterNet. November 8, 2010.

The cable companies are diverting money that is intended to improve infrastructure, creating a perpetual cash machine for greedy execs.

Everyday Products Are Filled With Toxins -- And We're Not Doing a Thing About It

Amy Goodman, Truthdig. February 25, 2009.

U.S. consumers are exposed to a vast array of harmful chemicals and additives in toys, cosmetics, plastic water bottles and countless other products.

Consuming Our Way to Unhappiness

Terrence McNally, AlterNet. January 10, 2008.

Our excessive consumption is trashing more than just the planet. An interview with Annie Leonard.

We Are What We Eat

Jamey Lionette, South End Press. December 10, 2007.

Mass production of food is ruining our health, environment, and taste buds. How did this happen?

All I Want for Christmas Are Some Lead-Free Toys

Mike Shriberg, Ecology Center. December 5, 2007.

It's not just imported toys that carry harmful chemicals, but brand-name, U.S.-manufactured ones too. One organization is helping shoppers identify non-toxic toys.

Consumer-Driven Culture Is Killing Our Democracy

Terrence McNally, AlterNet. November 28, 2007.

Labor economist Robert Reich argues Americans are split between wanting low prices and opposing the corporate behaviors that make them possible.

The Conflicted Consumer

Robert B. Reich, Alfred A. Knopf. September 26, 2007.

The awkward truth is that most of us are two minds: As consumers and investors we want the great deals. As citizens we don't like many of the social consequences that flow from them.