STANDARDS FOR CONSUMERS
SIR,—Leslie Adrian is perhaps not quite fully in- formed on the work done by the British Standards Institution and its Consumer Council, of which I have the honour to be a member.
No one organisation, as she says, can claim to be the complete answer to consumer protection, but there is more to the Consumer Council's 'Shopper's Guide' than she suggests. True, we do not grade goods as good, bad or indifferent; we state clearly the performance of each and leave the reader to make his own choice by taste and price. If an appliance fails in a test, we say so; if it is equally efficient as and cheaper than another, the conclusion is obvious. One more point; the BSI does not lay down basic standards before manufacture; its standards are agreed in the light of experience by manufacturers and users and are never allowed to limit enterprise or progress. I can only invite those who are doubtful as to the efficacy of the Consumer Council in advising the consumer to test it for themselves by becoming Associates at 10s. a year.—Yours faithfully,
ROGER FALK
Consumer Advisory Council, British Standards Institution, 2 Park Street, WI
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