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About CALPIRG Education Fund

For more than 20 years, Consumer Program Director Ed Mierzwinski has helped us stand up against big banks and credit card companies.

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH & EDUCATION

CALPIRG Education Fund is an independent, non-partisan group that works for consumers and the public interest. Through research, public education and outreach, we serve as counterweights to the influence of powerful special interests that threaten our health, safety or well-being.

OUR MISSION

With public debate around important issues often dominated by special interests pursuing their own narrow agendas, CALPIRG Education Fund offers an independent voice that works on behalf of the public interest. CALPIRG Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, works to protect consumers and promote good government. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer meaningful opportunities for civic participation.

Our Top Priorities
Using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation, CALPIRG Education Fund stands up to powerful interests and delivers concrete results.  

STOPPING THE OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS ON FACTORY FARMS

More than 93% of doctors are concerned about the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms, yet factory farms still use up to 70% of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. We're working to protect our medicine. 
 


 

CHANGING OUR TRANSPORTATION PRIORITIES

Americans are driving less and less. It's time to change the way we think about how we get around.
 


   

RECLAIMING OUR DEMOCRACY

Our democracy is based on the principle of one person, one vote, but our research shows the increasing dominance of big money in our elections. That's why we're working to reclaim our democracy. 
 

CALPIRG Education Fund Staff
CALPIRG Education Fund is an independent voice that works on behalf of the public interest. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer meaningful opportunities for civic participation. CALPIRG Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) organization working to protect consumers and promote good government. Find out more about our staff

THE FEDERATION OF STATE PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUPS

CALPIRG Education Fund tabis an independent, state-based, citizen-funded organization that educates for the public interest and is a member of U.S. PIRG Education Fund, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups.

 

Since 1970, state PIRGs have delivered results-oriented citizen activism, stood up to powerful special interests, and used the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, and litigation to win real results on issues that matter.

 

Across the country, state PIRGs employ close to 400 organizers, policy analysts, scientists and attorneys, and are active in 47 states, with a federal office in Washington, D.C. On national issues, we also coordinate our efforts, pool resources, and share expertise so that we can have the biggest impact.

What's New

Blog Post | Consumer Tips, COVID-19, Public Health

20 Questions to Ask Your Nursing Home during COVID | Teresa Murray

Whether you have a loved one currently in a nursing home or rehabilitation facility, or whether you’re shopping for one, you should arm yourself with a list of questions to gauge how safe the environment is. Here’s a guide to those questions, and the answers you should expect.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

California is uncovering secret ingredients in cosmetics | Gina Werdel

The FDA allows cosmetic companies to hide toxic fragrance ingredients from consumers. But this fall, California passed a landmark bill to change this.

> Keep Reading
News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips, Consumer Protection

35th annual Trouble in Toyland report uncovers mislabeled and dangerous toys

CALPIRG Education Fund’s Trouble in Toyland report has helped identify dangerous toys for 35 years. But 2020 is unique, and as Americans have worked, learned and played from home to protect themselves from COVID-19, children could be more susceptible to certain toy-related hazards.

> Keep Reading
News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Solid Waste

California groups urge Whole Foods: Put planet over plastic and eliminate plastic packaging

CALPIRG Education Fund and Environment California Research & Policy Center launched a campaign to call on Whole Foods to eliminate single-use plastic packaging from its stores.

> Keep Reading
News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | COVID-19, Public Health, Health Care

Report: Nursing homes endure massive PPE shortages

California nursing homes, along with thousands nationwide, are dealing with horrific shortages of masks, gowns and other items they need to protect residents, workers and the broader community from COVID-19, according to “Nursing home safety during COVID: PPE shortages,” a report by the CALPIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group.

> Keep Reading

Pages

News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips, Consumer Protection

35th annual Trouble in Toyland report uncovers mislabeled and dangerous toys

CALPIRG Education Fund’s Trouble in Toyland report has helped identify dangerous toys for 35 years. But 2020 is unique, and as Americans have worked, learned and played from home to protect themselves from COVID-19, children could be more susceptible to certain toy-related hazards.

> Keep Reading
News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Solid Waste

California groups urge Whole Foods: Put planet over plastic and eliminate plastic packaging

CALPIRG Education Fund and Environment California Research & Policy Center launched a campaign to call on Whole Foods to eliminate single-use plastic packaging from its stores.

> Keep Reading
News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | COVID-19, Public Health, Health Care

Report: Nursing homes endure massive PPE shortages

California nursing homes, along with thousands nationwide, are dealing with horrific shortages of masks, gowns and other items they need to protect residents, workers and the broader community from COVID-19, according to “Nursing home safety during COVID: PPE shortages,” a report by the CALPIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group.

> Keep Reading
News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips

New report: COVID-19 pandemic worsens existing consumer problems with car buying

Consumer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding vehicle loans and leases have increased sharply during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report by the CALPIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group. The analysis suggests that consumers in California and across the United States are facing abusive and deceptive practices from the automobile lending industry. 

> Keep Reading
News Release | US PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

FTC settles first case against VoIP provider for allowing illegal robocalls

This FTC settlement must be a wake-up call to phone service providers so they do more to protect consumers. If not, the FTC must be vigilant in going after companies that enable the immoral practice of preying on consumers. And the FCC should require providers to block spoofed calls that we all know are scams.

> Keep Reading

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Result | Consumer Protection

Keeping Children Safe From Dangerous Toys

Every year, as consumers begin purchasing toys for the holiday season, CALPIRG Education Fund visits numerous toy stores, malls and dollar stores to find potentially dangerous toys sitting on store shelves. In November 2015, we released our 30th annual report, "Trouble in Toyland 2015." Over the years, our reports have led to more than 150 recalls and other regulatory actions, helping to remove dangerous products from store shelves and keep children safe.

> Keep Reading
Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | COVID-19

Nursing Home Safety During COVID: PPE Shortages

At any given time, about 1.3 million people with long-term medical issues or short-term rehabilitation needs are residing in the nation’s 15,000 nursing homes. And too many of them are at risk, according to an analysis of government data by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group.

> Keep Reading
Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | COVID-19

Open Safe California Scorecard for July 21, 2020

COVID Exit Strategy (www.covidexitstrategy.org), a nonpartisan group of public health and crisis experts, has been tracking the progress states have made towards containing COVID-19. On July 10th, as the epidemic worsened, the group added a new color to their grading scale, indicating states with uncontrolled spread of the virus. California is one of 20 states currently in this category – our state is not meeting the CDC recommended benchmarks for reopening, and the situation is getting worse. 

> Keep Reading
Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | COVID-19

Open Safe California Scorecard for July 13, 2020

COVID Exit Strategy (www.covidexitstrategy.org), a nonpartisan group of public health and crisis experts, has been tracking the progress states have made towards containing COVID-19. On July 10th, as the epidemic worsened, the group added a new color to their grading scale, indicating states with uncontrolled spread of the virus.

> Keep Reading
Report | CALPIRG Education Fund

Open Safe California: Is the state effectively containing the novel coronavirus?

COVID Exit Strategy (www.covidexitstrategy.org), a nonpartisan group of public health and crisis experts, has been tracking the progress states have made towards meeting the CDC recommended benchmarks states should reach before reopening their economies. As of the week ending on June 26th, only six states were meeting these metrics, earning a “Green” rating. Currently, California is failing half of the benchmarks, and is rated “Red” by COVID Exit Strategy.

> Keep Reading
Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | COVID-19

Putting Consumers First

U.S. PIRG Education Fund, the Student Borrower Protection Center and Consumer Action have released a report recommending that  CFPB should use the full extent of its authority to take immediate action to strengthen its consumer complaint tool, hold companies accountable for providing complete and timely responses to consumers, and leverage consumer complaints related to the pandemic to support oversight and regulatory action to protect consumers.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Blog Post | Consumer Tips, COVID-19, Public Health

20 Questions to Ask Your Nursing Home during COVID | Teresa Murray

Whether you have a loved one currently in a nursing home or rehabilitation facility, or whether you’re shopping for one, you should arm yourself with a list of questions to gauge how safe the environment is. Here’s a guide to those questions, and the answers you should expect.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post

California is uncovering secret ingredients in cosmetics | Gina Werdel

The FDA allows cosmetic companies to hide toxic fragrance ingredients from consumers. But this fall, California passed a landmark bill to change this.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Tips, COVID-19

Planning to vote in person? Consider taking a bag of supplies to help you survive long lines | Teresa Murray

With Election Day coming up, here's a tip guide for what to do before you go to vote, what to take with you and how to stay safe while you’re at your polling place.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Tips, COVID-19

Why can I still buy toxic hand sanitizer? | Teresa Murray

The FDA doesn’t have the authority to stop retailers from selling dangerous over-the-counter products such as toxic hand sanitizer. Our safety system is broken, and we need to fix it. 

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Consumer Tips, COVID-19

Tenant protections from eviction and utility cutoffs vary by state | Jacob van Cleef

The CDC implemented the eviction freeze on Sept. 4 to reduce the number of people on the streets who could get infected with and spread the COVID-19 virus. Landlords and other groups filed lawsuits attempting to strike down the halt on evictions, so the future of the policy remains uncertain.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Blog Post

20 Questions to Ask Your Nursing Home during COVID

Whether you have a loved one currently in a nursing home or rehabilitation facility, or whether you’re shopping for one, you should arm yourself with a list of questions to gauge how safe the environment is. Here’s a guide to those questions, and the answers you should expect.

Blog Post

California is uncovering secret ingredients in cosmetics

The FDA allows cosmetic companies to hide toxic fragrance ingredients from consumers. But this fall, California passed a landmark bill to change this.

News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund

35th annual Trouble in Toyland report uncovers mislabeled and dangerous toys

CALPIRG Education Fund’s Trouble in Toyland report has helped identify dangerous toys for 35 years. But 2020 is unique, and as Americans have worked, learned and played from home to protect themselves from COVID-19, children could be more susceptible to certain toy-related hazards.

News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund

California groups urge Whole Foods: Put planet over plastic and eliminate plastic packaging

CALPIRG Education Fund and Environment California Research & Policy Center launched a campaign to call on Whole Foods to eliminate single-use plastic packaging from its stores.

Report | CALPIRG Education Fund

Nursing Home Safety During COVID: PPE Shortages

At any given time, about 1.3 million people with long-term medical issues or short-term rehabilitation needs are residing in the nation’s 15,000 nursing homes. And too many of them are at risk, according to an analysis of government data by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group.

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Your tax-deductible donation supports CALPIRG Education Fund’s work to educate consumers on the issues that matter, and the powerful interests that are blocking progress.

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You can also support CALPIRG Education Fund’s work through bequests, contributions from life insurance or retirement plans, securities contributions and vehicle donations. 

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CALPIRG Education Fund is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.