The purpose of this site
A customer can complain, write a review, contact an authority or choose another company. Sometimes that works. But when a problem affects many customers, there is rarely an organisation that can gather their experiences, investigate the issue, formulate shared demands and represent them in a negotiation.
So the company does not meet its customers as an organised counterpart. It meets a large number of individuals who do not know what the others think or are prepared to do.
The purpose of this site is to make it possible for customers to build such organisations. Here people can find other customers of the same company, join a consumer union or help start a new one.
The platform's purpose
A consumer does not have the same simple organisational relationship as an employee. An employee usually has one employer and can therefore join the union that organises workers at that workplace or in that industry. As a consumer, the same person has relationships with many different companies at the same time: the bank, the insurer, the grocery shop, the electricity company, the mobile operator, the streaming services, public transport and the digital platforms.
This means consumer organising easily becomes fragmented. A person may be interested in influencing several companies but lacks a place where they can see which consumer unions exist, which issues they are working on and how much participation is required.
A central purpose of the platform is therefore to create a shared infrastructure for consumer unions. The platform should provide an overview of the companies one can organise around and make it possible to see whether a consumer union already exists, to join it, or to help create a new one.
In one place a member should be able to see:
- which consumer unions they already belong to
- which consumer unions exist for companies they are customers of
- which demands and votes are current
- which joint actions are being prepared
- which results the consumer unions have achieved
- which tasks need to be done
- where there is a need for more members or people who want to take greater responsibility
Different levels of participation
The overview is important because a person cannot be very active in every consumer union at the same time. In some unions a member may only want to follow information and vote on major issues. In another they may want to join a working group, do research, write proposals or stand as a representative.
The platform should make different levels of participation possible. It should be easy to be a member without consumer organising becoming yet another major task in daily life. At the same time it should be easy to discover when an issue concerns you and then increase your participation.
Engagement does not arise only from asking people to engage. It becomes easier to participate when you can see that others are already working on an issue, that there is a clear task to do and that the work is moving forward. The platform should therefore show what has been done, what the next step is and how an individual contribution fits into the organisation's larger work.
A person should not have to start from scratch every time they want to influence a company. Statutes, meeting forms, membership registers, votes, working groups and other basic parts should be able to exist in a shared structure. This lowers the threshold from discontent to participation and from temporary participation to a more lasting organisation.
What is a consumer union?
A consumer union is a democratic membership organisation for consumers. It can be organised around a single company, a corporate group, a digital platform or a market where customers share interests.
Organised voice means customers can gather experiences, elect representatives, formulate demands and negotiate with the company.
Organised potential exit means customers can prepare a joint boycott or a joint switch. That is not the same as urging people to stop buying immediately. Consumers can first show how many are ready to act if the company does not carry out a given change.
Conditional loyalty means consumers can stay, return or start buying from the company if certain conditions are met. A consumer union therefore does not only organise discontent. It can also show the company what it takes to keep or win back customers.
The organised possibility of leaving partly corresponds to a trade union's possibility of striking. Striking is not a union's only activity, but the possibility of a strike gives weight to negotiations. In the same way, the possibility of a coordinated exit can give weight to consumers' voice.
A consumer union is a tool. The form itself does not guarantee good decisions. A union can base its demands on solid research and reasonable trade-offs, but it can also set poor priorities or be driven in an unsound direction. That is why it needs statutes, member democracy, scrutiny, clear decision-making paths and elected representatives.
National and global consumer unions
Many large companies are global, while customers' rights and conditions still differ between countries. Prices, contracts, laws, products and problems can differ even when the company is the same.
It should therefore be possible to create country-specific consumer unions within a global consumer union. A Swedish consumer union can work on the issues that particularly affect the company's customers in Sweden. It can use Swedish, relate to Swedish legislation and pursue demands relevant to the Swedish part of the operation.
The global consumer union can bring together national consumer unions around issues that need to be handled jointly. This may include the company's global terms of use, handling of personal data, supply chains or decisions made centrally that affect customers in many countries.
The structure must therefore be able to function at several levels. Local and national unions need room to pursue their own issues, while being able to coordinate internationally when the company makes decisions at a global level.
A global consumer union should not automatically decide over national organisations. How power, representation and decisions are distributed must be regulated by statutes. The national unions can appoint representatives to the global organisation and decide which issues they want to coordinate with other countries.
In this way, organising can follow the actual structure of companies. When a problem is national it can be handled nationally. When the company uses its global scale, consumers can coordinate across national borders.
Multiple consumer unions for the same company
The platform should not assume that there may only be one consumer union for each company. Members may be dissatisfied with how an existing consumer union is governed, which demands it prioritises or what values it starts from. It should then be possible to create a competing consumer union.
One consumer union may work almost exclusively for lower prices. Another group of customers may instead want to prioritise working conditions, environmental impact, personal privacy or how the company acts in different parts of the world. These conflicts can sometimes be resolved within the same organisation through discussion and member decisions. But there should not be an organisational monopoly forcing all customers to be represented by the same union.
Several consumer unions can therefore exist around the same company. The platform should make it possible to compare them based on, for example:
- which issues and goals they prioritise
- which statutes and decision-making forms they use
- which demands they pursue
- how many members they have
- which results they have achieved
- how they are financed
- how much participation they expect from members
Competition and cooperation
Competition between consumer unions can give members a real choice and reduce the risk of an organisation becoming passive or ceasing to represent members' priorities. At the same time, several unions can cooperate on issues where they agree. A price-focused union and an ethically focused union can have different main goals but still support a shared demand for clearer information or better customer terms.
The platform's task is not to decide which consumer union is the right one. It should make the differences visible and give customers the information they need to choose, participate or create an alternative.
What is on the site?
The site contains a list of large companies operating in Sweden, grouped into categories so it is easier to find the companies you are a customer of.
On every company page you can see whether a consumer union already exists. If it does, you can apply for membership. If it does not, you can take the initiative to create one.
A company page can show:
- how many people have organised
- how many have verified that they are customers
- which experiences and problems have been collected
- which proposals and demands are being processed
- which demands the members have voted for
- how the company has responded
- which decisions the union has taken
- how many are willing to take part in different actions
- which thresholds must be reached before an action is carried out
- which tasks need doing
Reported in aggregate
A person can state, for example, that they want to stay as a customer if a problem is fixed, that they might leave, that they have already left, that they are ready to take part in a joint boycott, or that they would consider returning if a demand is met.
The data is reported in aggregate. It should be possible to show that, say, 5,000 customers are ready to act without giving the company a public list of who they are.
Demands and decisions
A consumer union needs to turn scattered experiences into demands that can be investigated, discussed and decided on.
Work can start when members notice a problem. The union can then collect more experiences, request information, investigate causes and assess which solutions are possible. Members can then consider proposals and vote on which demands the organisation should pursue.
Elected representatives can present the demands to the company. The company's response is reported back to the members. The union can then decide whether the demand should change, whether negotiations should continue, or whether a joint action should be prepared.
Not every member has to be active in every part of the work. But members should be able to see how decisions were made, who represents them and what evidence underpins the organisation's positions.
Thresholds for joint action
Many customers can be dissatisfied individually without anything changing. They do not know how many others share their view, and they do not want to bear the cost of acting alone.
The site therefore supports conditional commitments. A customer can state: “I will leave the company if at least 5,000 other verified customers also commit to leaving and the company does not meet the shared demand.”
Nobody has to leave before the threshold is reached. Members can see readiness grow, and the company can see how many customer relationships are at stake.
Thresholds can be used for several kinds of action: joint complaints, petitions, negotiations, boycotts, cancellations, switching supplier or coordinated purchases. There can also be a way back. If the company carries out the agreed change, the union can recommend that members stay, return or resume buying.
The work of the organisation
A consumer union cannot be run by voting alone. Someone has to investigate questions, check facts, write proposals, arrange meetings, communicate with members and represent the organisation.
The site therefore shows what work is under way and what needs doing. Members can join working groups and take on well-defined tasks: compiling customer experiences, reviewing a contract, examining how other companies solve the issue, preparing a member vote or contacting the company.
It is also possible to hold member meetings, elect representatives and follow the organisation's work. The site provides shared technical structure, but it is the members who constitute and run the union.
How does a consumer union differ from other forms?
Several existing activities give consumers information or help them act. Consumer unions are not meant to replace them. They fill a different organisational function.
Co-operatives
In a consumer co-operative, consumers are members and usually joint owners. They gain influence over an operation through ownership and internal democratic rights.
A consumer union instead organises customers as an independent counterpart to the company. Members do not need to own the company, and the organisation does not need to produce goods or services itself.
The difference resembles that between owning a business and being able to negotiate with it from outside. A co-operative gives formal power inside its own organisation. A consumer union organises customers' voice, loyalty and ability to leave.
A consumer union can work for a company to be turned into a co-operative, or help create one. But the two remain different organisational forms.
Group switching
In a group switch, many consumers gather to change electricity supplier, insurer or provider at the same time. By acting as a larger customer group they can obtain a better price or better terms.
That can be a useful tool for a consumer union, but a group switch is usually a one-off deal. Once the switch is done, the group often dissolves or loses its function.
A consumer union is a more lasting organisation. It can represent members after the switch, handle questions beyond price and make demands about quality, privacy, working conditions, environmental impact and how the company treats its customers.
Boycott sites
A boycott site can inform people about a boycott and urge them to stop buying from a company. It often starts from a position already taken: this company should be boycotted.
In a consumer union, a boycott is one of several possible actions. Members can first investigate the issue, formulate demands and try to negotiate. They can also state that they will join a boycott only once a certain number of other customers have signed up.
A union can also organise what happens if the company changes. A boycott does not need to continue after its demand has been met. Customers can stay, return or recommend the company when there is reason to.
Petitions
A petition shows that many people support a demand. That can matter, but a signature does not always say what people are prepared to do if the demand is rejected.
When the petition ends there is often no membership organisation left. The signatories have not necessarily made decisions together, elected representatives or built any capacity to negotiate.
A consumer union can use petitions, but does not stop there. It links the demand to an organisation that can investigate, represent members, respond to counter-proposals and decide on further action.
General consumer organisations
General consumer organisations shape opinion, provide information, examine markets and influence legislation. They often work with consumer interests at a general level.
A consumer union organises people around their concrete customer relationships. Members can be verified customers of the company the demands are aimed at, so the organisation can show both how many customers it represents and how members are prepared to act.
General consumer policy work and company-specific organising can support each other. They are still not the same activity. One influences laws, opinion and markets at large. The other builds a membership organisation that can negotiate directly with a specific company.
Consumer authorities
Consumer authorities inform people about their rights, check that rules are followed and can intervene when companies break the law. They have a public duty and should not be steered by one group of customers' member decisions.
A consumer union is not an authority and does not decide what is lawful. It can, however, help members document problems, use their rights and alert authorities to violations.
Many issues are not about breaking the law at all. A company can follow the law and still have terms, prices, systems or priorities customers want changed. There a union can formulate demands that go beyond existing legal rights.
Loyalty programmes and customer panels
Loyalty programmes are organised and controlled by companies themselves. Customers get discounts, points or other benefits in exchange for continued consumption and often data about their purchases.
A loyalty programme does not give customers an independent organisation. The company sets the rules, which questions may be raised and which offers are made. It can also change or end the programme.
Customer panels and feedback systems can give companies useful information, but they do not make customers a negotiating party. A consumer union is owned and governed by its members. It can prioritise questions the company would rather not raise, and use the organised customer relationship as the basis for its demands.
Individual ethical consumption
Individual ethical consumption assumes each person investigates companies and chooses the most responsible alternatives. It can influence companies, but places a heavy burden on the individual consumer.
One person is expected to assess supply chains, working conditions, climate impact, taxes, ownership and company claims, then choose between alternatives that are often hard to compare. The company does not always learn why a customer stopped buying.
A consumer union makes the investigation and the influence collective. Members can share the work, consult experts, discuss trade-offs and decide which demands to prioritise. The company gets a clear message about what customers want changed and how many stand behind the demand.
That does not remove individual responsibility. It makes the responsibility possible to carry together with others.
If you have used boycott, petition or ethical consumption sites
The platform differs from boycott sites, petition sites and individual ethical consumption tools because it is built for lasting organisation. A boycott site usually assumes that a boycott has already been decided and tries to get more people to join, whereas a consumer union can first gather customers, investigate the issue, formulate demands, negotiate with the company and collectively decide whether a boycott should actually go ahead. A petition can show that many people support a demand, but it rarely creates a membership organisation that can choose representatives, respond to the company's counter-proposals and decide what to do if the demand is rejected. Individual ethical consumption helps people compare companies and make better choices, but still leaves the responsibility for research and influence with each individual consumer. The company does not always learn why customers turn away. A consumer union, by contrast, brings knowledge, decisions and readiness to act together in a democratic organisation. It can use petitions, ethical comparisons and boycotts, but ties them to organised voice, conditional loyalty and a shared possibility to leave or return to the company.
Knowledge and democratic learning
It is not enough to build a technical platform and assume well-functioning consumer unions will appear by themselves. Most people have never learned how to run a membership organisation, elect representatives, scrutinise information or negotiate.
The site therefore provides guidance and material on how to:
- create and administer a consumer union
- write statutes and hold member meetings
- elect and scrutinise representatives
- collect and verify information
- tell isolated experiences apart from recurring problems
- formulate clear demands
- assess conflicting goals
- make democratic decisions
- negotiate with companies
- plan a joint exit
- follow up results and hold decision-makers to account
Skills used throughout democracy
Organising also trains abilities needed elsewhere in democracy: doing research, listening to others, analysing power, building organisations, compromising, representing a group and taking responsibility for shared decisions.
Privacy and protection for members
Companies must not be able to use this site to map individual critics or target people who are considering joining a collective action.
It is therefore possible to verify a customer relationship without publishing members' identities. Companies and the public can see aggregate figures about the organisation's size and readiness to act, but do not automatically get data about each individual member.
Which data needs to be collected depends on the action being taken. The basic principle is not to collect or publish more personal data than the organising requires.
What this site contributes
Consumers already have several ways to react to companies: complaining, writing reviews, contacting authorities, signing petitions, joining boycotts or trying to consume more ethically. What is usually missing is a lasting organisation that ties those actions together.
This site gives that organisation a practical structure. Here consumers can find each other, build membership organisations, gather knowledge, choose demands, make decisions, appoint representatives and coordinate their actions.
A consumer union turns customers into a collective actor the company may have to negotiate with.
Frequently asked questions
What is a consumer union?
A consumer union is a democratic membership organisation for consumers, organised around a company, corporate group, platform or market where customers share interests. It rests on organised voice, organised potential exit and conditional loyalty.
How is a consumer union different from a boycott?
A boycott site usually starts from a position already taken. In a consumer union a boycott is one of several possible actions: members can first investigate, formulate demands and negotiate, and commit to act only once enough other customers have joined.
What is a conditional commitment?
A conditional commitment means you only act if enough others do. For example: “I will leave the company if at least 5,000 other verified customers also commit to leaving and the company does not meet the shared demand.” Nobody leaves before the threshold is reached.
Is my membership visible publicly?
No. A customer relationship can be verified without publishing your identity. Companies and the public see aggregate figures about the organisation's size and readiness to act, not data about individual members.
What if there is no consumer union for my company?
Every company page shows whether a union already exists. If it does not, you can take the initiative to create one, and other customers of the same company can join.
What does it cost to join?
A consumer union is a membership organisation. Any membership fee is decided democratically in each union and shown clearly before you join. You can leave at any time.
Can I be in several consumer unions?
Yes. You can belong to a consumer union for every company you have, have had, or are considering a relationship with. The platform gives you an overview of all the unions you belong to.
Who decides in a consumer union?
The members decide. Each union has statutes that set out which questions are decided by all members, by elected representatives or by working groups. You can always see which decisions have been made and who represents you.
What is the difference between a member and a verified customer?
All members can take part in democracy and support demands. A verified customer has also shown that they actually have, have had, or are considering a relationship with the company. Verified customers give weight to thresholds and negotiations without individual identities being shown.
Can I leave a consumer union at any time?
Yes. Membership is voluntary and you can leave whenever you want. Your data is deleted or anonymised in accordance with data protection rules.
What happens if the company does not listen?
The union can choose several paths: reformulate the demand, build greater readiness to act, escalate to authorities, or collectively decide on a boycott or joint exit. No action is required from you alone – everything is based on shared thresholds.
Find your company
Search for a company you are a customer of. You will see whether a consumer union already exists — or you can take the initiative to start one.