U.S. Standards System: Consumers

Like U.S. industry, consumers have a strong interest in standards that ensure the quality and safety of the products they use. While industry is motivated to use high quality standards in order to please and thus attract the consumer, the U.S. standardization system relies on consumers and consumer groups to drive the continuous improvement standards related to health, safety, and the environment.

Consumer preference plays an important role in determining market acceptance requirements in the U.S. (i.e. what private sector requirements must be met in order to compete in the U.S. marketplace).

Consumers have the right to expect that the products they buy are safe . . . from ladders to laptop batteries, from appliances in their kitchens to the latest audio and entertainment devices in their family rooms. For all of these products, consumers count on industry to work in partnership with government to uphold the highest possible level of safety.

Consumer involvement in standardization not only promotes safer, healthier and more environmentally sound products and services, it also increases consumer confidence in the quality and reliability of products and services, and provides consumers a greater selection of goods and services at lower costs.

The role of NIST