Consumer Reports Archives Exhibitions

Controversies

A 1953 affidavit from Consumers Union president Colston E. Warne, formally denying communist ties before the House Un-American Activities Committee, stands as a defiant rebuttal to Cold War suspicion.

Affidavit submitted to the House Committee on Un-American Activities, 18 April 1953.

A green-and-white cover of Freeman newsletter spotlights Cold War-era critiques and liberal revival, featuring Hayek, Eisenhower, and a exposé on Consumers Union.

Freeman, 28 July 1952

Red Scare

In the pursuit of truth, Consumer Reports was not afraid to confront—and court—controversy. Shortly after its founding, the organization was accused of being a front for the international Communist Party by former colleagues at Consumers Research (Consumer Reports’ predecessor organization) and consequently became a target of the House Un-American Activities Committee.  

Contraception

Beginning in the 1940s, the Postmaster General's office invoked the 1873 Comstock Act, which banned distribution of obscene materials through the mail, to block Consumers Union from mailing their booklet on contraception and family planning. The issue was resolved when Consumers Union agreed to require women buyers to sign a waiver stating that they were married and using contraception on the advice of their physician. In 1962, Consumers Union expanded on the contraception pamphlet and published a comprehensive guide to family planning that included sections on infertility, Planned Parenthood, and other public health services.

A long yellow waiver with address lines available for individuals to sign in order to receive information regarding contraceptive materials.

Sample waiver to receive a copy of the contraceptive materials pamphlet

A typed 1949 letter on Consumers Union letterhead with handwritten notes in the margins and at the bottom in blue ink.

Letter to Consumers Union, 17 October 1949

A printed copy of A Report on Contraceptive Material, February 1950" signed by M.L. Smith in bkue ink.

A Report on Contraceptive Material

A booklet cover with a blue grid background with circular cell-like images, a classical statue of a woman on a shell evoking Venus, and a black-and-white photo of a family with a baby, symbolizing themes of reproduction and parenthood.

The Consumers Union Report on Family Planning

Tobacco and Drug Awareness

Consumer Reports began reporting on the connection between smoking and chronic illness in 1938, calling cigarettes “deleterious to the human machine.” In 1953, the organization deemed the connection between habitual smoking and lung cancer “very suggestive”—four years before the Surgeon General’s report declaring smoking a health hazard. In 1963, with the publication of Smoking and the Public Interest, Consumers Union built upon their criticism of the industry which reaffirmed evidence connecting smoking to higher rates of lung cancer and other diseases, denounced the advertising claims made by the tobacco industry, and outlined a plan for reducing smoking rates in the United States.

A red cover shows a illustrated hand stubbing out a white cigarette in an ashtray, symbolizing public action against smoking.

The Consumers Union Report on Smoking and the Public Interest

Black and white cover of Consumers Union Report reporting on 35 cigarett brands. To the left is a profile of a woman, cigarette in hand and smoking.

Consumers Union Reports, July 1938

A 1953 magazine cover shows a diagonal row of cigarettes behind bold red text, highlighting health tests and advertising claims.

Consumer Reports, February 1953

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