Consumer rights organization ‘Conscious Consumers Society’ (CCS) has taken the initiative to form committees in districts and police stations across the country. This committee will work to create awareness for establishing consumer rights. If you are interested in joining our awareness work, fill out the form to become a volunteer. To know more about CCS: CCS Volunteer Form Link
CCS at a Glance: Various studies have revealed that adulterated and harmful chemicals have been used in various products in the country for a long time. Among these, toxic chemicals including formalin, chromium, cadmium, melamine and carbide are among them. As a result, various organs including the human liver, kidney, stomach, lungs are being damaged. Which is a violation of consumer rights. Complex diseases including deadly cancer are taking root in the human body; which many have identified as a ‘silent genocide’ or ‘silent epidemic’. To protect consumers from this epidemic, consumers have the right to protect themselves from this epidemic, just as they do in Bangladesh.
In 2009, the ‘Consumer Rights Protection Act-2009’ was passed in the country and the ‘National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate’ was established. It is necessary to create widespread awareness and shape public opinion in both government and private institutions. With this noble objective, ‘Conscious Consumers Society’ (CCS) was established in 2013 under the leadership of senior journalist Palash Mahmud. The organization is currently working in 61 districts, 345 police stations and 42 educational institutions of the country with about 12,000 volunteers. CCS coordinates and jointly conducts various activities with the ‘Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection’ (DNCRP).
Notable Activities and Achievements: 1. ‘Sheikh Hasina Youth Volunteer Award-2020’ Achievement: ‘Conscious Consumers Society (CCS)’ volunteer platform ‘Corona Volunteers’ or ‘CCS Volunteers’ won the ‘Sheikh Hasina Youth Volunteer Award’ for volunteer activities during Corona. Out of about 4 million contestants from 89 countries, 182 individuals and organizations were awarded the ‘Sheikh Hasina Youth Volunteer Award 2020’ for the first time in the name of the Prime Minister under the ‘Dhaka OIC Youth Capital 2020’ in 2021. President Md. Abdul Hamid attended the event as the chief guest from Bangabhaban.
CCS Volunteer Form
2. ‘International Youth Award-2019’ Achievement: Palash Mahmud, founder of ‘Conscious Consumers Society (CCS)’, was awarded the ‘International Youth Award’ or ‘International Youth Award-2019’ in Delhi for his contribution to the establishment of consumer rights. This award was given to 10 important youth from the world at a program titled ‘International Youth Conference and Award Ceremony-2019’ on October 13, 2019.
3. Consumer Conference: The first ‘Consumer Rights Conference-2022’ was organized in the country. On March 24, Honorable Planning Minister MA Mannan MP addressed the conference as the chief guest at the Krishibid Institute in Dhaka. The special guests were Mr. AHM Shafiquzzaman, Director General of the National Consumer Rights Protection Department and Mr. Manjur Mohammad Shahriar, Director, and others. About 300 consumer organizers from 47 districts and 19 educational institutions of the country participated in the conference.
4. Consumer Rights Honors and Awards: In 2022, CCS awarded four distinguished individuals with the ‘Special Honor for Outstanding Contribution to Consumer Interests’ and 10 journalists with the ‘Consumer Rights Journalism Award-2022’ for their outstanding contribution to protecting consumer interests. The awardees are Mr. AHM Shafiquzzaman, Head of WTO Cell of the Ministry of Commerce, Mr. Mahbub Kabir Milon, Former Acting Chairman of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, Mr. Mohiuddin Maharaj, Chairman of Pirojpur District Council and Mr. Manjumar Mohammad Shahriar, Director of the Directorate. In addition, four journalists from television, three from newspapers and three from online were awarded the ‘Consumer Rights Journalism Award-2022’.
5. Writ of 52 products: In 2018, CCS filed a writ petition in the High Court against 52 adulterated products. In view of the writ, the High Court banned 52 adulterated products and ordered their withdrawal from the market; which garnered widespread praise across the country. At the same time, this writ led to big companies improving their quality control. As a result, consumers benefited in the long run.
6. 16121 Hotline: The hotline number of the National Consumer Rights Protection Department is 16121. You can call the said number from any part of the country for any matter related to consumer rights. In 2018, when CCS filed a writ in the High Court regarding 52 products, the hotline was later launched on the court’s orders.
7. Protection of e-commerce customers: In 2021, CCS played a major role in protecting e-commerce customers. CCS played an active role in releasing several hundred crores of taka from 18,000 customers stuck in an MFS gateway. Ultimately, all the customers got their money back. And CCS filed a writ petition on behalf of 1,068 consumers to return the money of customers stuck in other gateways.
8. Monthly Publications: CCS publishes a monthly magazine called ‘Consumer Watch’. The magazine is distributed to about 30 educational institutions and more than 50 districts. ‘Consumer Watch’ acts as the mouthpiece of CCS.
9. Writ to ban heavy metals in pesticides: The Bangladesh Food Safety Authority’s tests show that most pesticides in the country contain excessive amounts of heavy metals. There is no obligation to conduct quality tests in laboratories when importing pesticides into the country. After the matter was published in the media, CCS filed a writ petition in the High Court demanding that lab tests be made mandatory for importing pesticides.
10. Seminar: CCS has organized more than 8 seminars so far. Ministers, members of parliament, former advisors to the caretaker government, Director General and officials of the Department of Consumer Rights, RAB officials, representatives of various product manufacturing companies, representatives of supershops and other stakeholders are present in these seminars.
11. Training: CCS’ youth organization CYB is currently conducting activities in about 42 educational institutions. So far, it has trained about 4 thousand students on consumer rights. Among them, programs were organized with 200 to 1800 students from Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Rajshahi University, Jagannath University, Gopalganj University, Islamic University, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, and People’s University.
12. Day Celebration and Campaign: CCS celebrates ‘World Consumer Rights Day’ every year and conducts extensive campaign. The day is celebrated with colorful programs across the country. At the same time, various activities are conducted, including distributing leaflets on consumer rights in various educational institutions, districts and police stations.
13. Consumer cooperation: If a consumer is a victim of a violation of his rights and informs CCS, CCS helps him understand his rights and get redress. So far, CCS has directly cooperated with about 300 consumers. In addition, hundreds of consumers have been advised through digital media.
14. Research in the interest of consumers: CCS has so far conducted several small-scale researches to protect the interests of consumers. Among them, the topics discussed were; ‘Food quality and safety in various university dining-canteens’ and ‘Onion price increase and remedy through syndication.’ The results of the research on onion price increase are widely discussed.
15. Lab test: CCS conducts laboratory tests on some products on a small scale at different times. In 2018, eight brands of salt were lab tested for quality. Out of these, several brands of salt were found to be of poor quality.
16. Humanitarian Activities: Along with working on consumer rights, CCS undertakes humanitarian activities from time to time. Some of the notable ones are, building a house for a childless elderly couple in Lalmonirhat at a cost of 1 lakh taka. A bathroom and tube well were also installed along with the house. Due to the shortage of potable water in the coastal areas, a few tube wells have been installed in Ashasuni, Satkhira.
17. Digital Campaign: To make consumers aware, CCS mostly runs digital campaigns. For this, digital campaigns are run on various groups and pages including the Executive Director’s personal Facebook page, CCS’s official verified page, CYB and CCS volunteers’ official pages, CCS’s official group and CCS volunteers’ official group. Apart from this, three types of content are provided in digital campaigns on various platforms including YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Instagram – images, text and videos.
18. Role in combating Covid-19: When the coronavirus pandemic started, CCS formed a large team of about 12,000 volunteers. Volunteering was conducted in 335 police stations, 61 districts and 42 educational institutions. During this time, food assistance was provided to about 20,000 families. Educational institutions were provided with cash assistance to about 2,000 students. Out of these, 200 students were given a grant of Tk 1,000 for three months.
