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Will Hild, III

Executive director, consumers’ research.

Will Hild is the Executive Director of Consumers’ Research. Will has a decade of non-profit, legal and public policy experience. Prior to joining CR, Will served as the Deputy Director of the Regulatory Transparency Project. Before that, he worked at the Philanthropy Roundtable as the Director of External Affairs for the Culture of Freedom Initiative, and as the Chief Operating Officer of that Initiative when it grew to become a separate organization. He helped co-found the public interest law firm, Cause of Action, and served as the firm’s acting communications director for nearly a year.

Will received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida. He is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Will resides in Bethesda, MD, with his wife Cheryl, a practicing OB/GYN, and their son Liam.

A person listed as a contributor has spoken or otherwise participated in Federalist Society events, publications, or multimedia presentations. A person's appearance on this list does not imply any other endorsement or relationship between the person and the Federalist Society. In most cases, the biographical information on a person's "contributor" page is provided directly by the person, and the Federalist Society does not edit or otherwise endorse that information. The Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues. All expressions of opinion by a contributor are those of the contributor.

• Past Events

Laboratories of Democracy, Part 2: Can Congress learn from State Legislatures?

Article I Initiative

• In-Person Event

Accounting for Race 101: Virginia Universities and Racial Preferences

Regulatory Transparency Project

Will Hild , Robert Hurt , Karl Kurtz

The concept of states serving as important test cases for national governance dates to the...

Linda L. Chavez , Todd F. Gaziano , Will Hild , Althea Nagai , Theodore M. Shaw , Hans A. Von Spakovsky

On September 10, 2019, The Federalist Society hosted a luncheon cosponsored with the Center for...

WILL HILD – Editor in Chief

Will Hild is the Executive Director of Consumers’ Research. Will has a decade of non-profit, legal and public policy experience. Prior to joining CR, Will served as the Deputy Director of the Regulatory Transparency Project. Before that, he worked at the Philanthropy Roundtable as the Director of External Affairs for the Culture of Freedom Initiative, and as the Chief Operating Officer of that Initiative when it grew to become a separate organization. He helped co-found the public interest law firm, Cause of Action, and served as the firm’s acting communications director for nearly a year.

Will received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida. He is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Will resides in Bethesda, MD, with his wife Cheryl, a practicing OB/GYN, and their son Liam.

CHRISTIAN WHITTLE – Deputy Editor

Christian Whittle is an Associate Editor at Consumers’ Research and leads CR’s internship program. In addition to managing and editing daily content, he oversees CR’s social media initiatives, writes the occasional consumer-focused editorial, and assists in the production of public interest comments. Prior to Consumers’ Research, Christian worked as a staff writer for the Santa Barbara News-Press. There he covered business news in Santa Barbara County, local government, and nonprofits. A DMV native and George Washington University alum, he completed a fellowship with the National Journalism Center and worked in podcasting and video production at Radio America. Christian lives in DC with his wife.

BEAU BRUNSON – Contributor

Beau Brunson is the Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Consumers’ Research and leads CR’s engagement on legislation and regulation. His work includes research on financial product sandboxes, public interest comments on modernizing banking and energy regulations, and numerous consumer-focused editorials on issues pertaining to consumer protection, financial services, technology, and copyright issues. Prior to Consumers’ Research, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for a Member of Congress serving on the House Committee on Financial Services and Chairman’s Designee to the House Committee on Space, Science, and Technology Subcommittee on the Environment. A native Texan, Beau is forever seeking the perfect method to smoke a beef brisket. He graduated from Texas A&M and now lives in Maryland with his wife and three beautiful children.

TOM MILLER – Contributor

Tom Miller, Jr. is a Senior Research Fellow at Consumers’ Research. He is a Professor of Finance and inaugural holder of the Jack R. Lee Chair in Financial Institutions and Consumer Finance at Mississippi State University. With its focus on Consumer Finance, notably installment credit products, the Lee Chair is the first of its kind. He currently serves as a member of the Academic Research Council at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Professor Miller has several ongoing research projects on various topics in small-dollar loans. His current research now includes projects on payday loans and on small-dollar installment loans.

Miller is a frequent speaker at national conferences and conventions. His overall topics generally focus on the value to consumers of maintaining access to small-dollar credit products, the value of competition in small-dollar credit products, and educating policymakers about how small-dollar credit products work.

Miller has had, and maintains, a long-standing interest in derivative securities and investments. He has published numerous scholarly peer-reviewed articles on various topics in derivative securities. In addition, he is the author of How Do Small-Dollar Nonbank Loans Work? and co-author (with Bradford D. Jordan and Steve Dolvin) of Fundamentals of Investments: Valuation and Management, 9th ed. (McGraw-Hill/Irwin). He is also co-author (with David Dubofsky) of Derivatives: Valuation and Risk Management (Oxford University Press).

Miller received his Ph.D. in finance from the University of Washington (Seattle) and his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in applied economics from Montana State University. In his off hours, he enjoys playing jazz and blues on the tenor saxophone.

NATHALIE VOIT – Staff Writer

Nathalie is a graduate of the University of Florida (Go Gators!) where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History, with a minor in Philosophy. In the near future she hopes to attend graduate school and obtain an MA in International Relations, possibly in Geneva. Nathalie is an avid reader, runner, and nature enthusiast with roots in Switzerland and Ecuador.

NATALIE DECOSTE – Contributor

Natalie DeCoste is a senior at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. There she is pursuing a degree in Political Science with a minor in Rhetoric & Composition. Natalie spends her free time serving on her college’s Academic Governance Council, as the Directors of Academic Affairs for the Student Government, she is a JD Power Center Ambassador and the captain of her college’s Moot Court team.

JOSEPH CHALFANT – Contributor

Joseph Chalfant is an intern for Consumers’ Research and a Political Science major at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. He serves as the president of Lone Conservative, America’s largest conservative student commentary website. He has been featured in El American and NewsBusters, and was a 2019 America’s Future Writing Fellow.

EMMA NITZSCHE – Contributor

Emma Nitzsche is Consumers’ Research intern and a recent graduate of Grove City College with a degree in political science and pre-law. While in college, Emma volunteered with a local prison ministry and served as the Executive Articles Editor for The Grove City College Journal of Law & Public Policy . Before joining Consumers’ Research, she worked as a legal intern at the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. In the fall, Emma will start her first year of law school at the University of Kentucky. Her hobbies include reading nonfiction and beating all her friends at UNO.

NOAH ROTHSTEIN – Contributor

Noah Rothstein is a Consumers’ Research intern and a senior at The George Washington University in Washington, DC pursuing a degree in political science with a minor in geography. His experience includes interning twice at the House of Representatives and volunteering for two 2020 congressional reelection campaigns. In his free time, Noah is involved with the GW College Republicans, the GW Quiz Bowl Team, and the GW University Singers. He is originally from Long Island, but he is currently living in the DMV area.

LEONARD ROBINSON – Contributor

Leonard Robinson writes on consumer topics and their intersection with business, technology, travel, housing, health, and regulation. Prior to joining Consumers Bulletin, he was an editorial intern at the Baltimore Business Journal and Reason. He covered the North Carolina state legislature for Carolina Journal in 2019. A senior at the University of Baltimore, he served as editor-in-chief of the student news publication, The Sting,  from August 2019- December 2020. He lives in Baltimore where he enjoys reading, typewriters, and finding any excuse to travel.

DAVID DIMOLFETTA – Contributor

David DiMolfetta is a former intern for Consumers’ Research. He studies business analytics and journalism at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. David is also published in The Jerusalem Post and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

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Black & Decker becomes latest firm to face a boycott over DEI – but what is Consumers’ Research?

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Will Hild, Executive Director of Consumers’ Research (R) appears on CNBC news (CNBC)

Tool company Stanley Black & Decker is the latest US firm to face right-wing criticism and calls for a boycott for having diversity, equality and inclusion policies (DEI) in place

Consumers’ Research, which describes itself as an independent educational organisation which dates back to 1929, and which boasts that it targets “wokeness” in businesses, has called out the Connecticut-based company for supporting racial equality, LGBTQ+ causes and net-zero climate goals.

The not-for-profit organisation was originally set up to test consumer products and report the results, a bit like Which? – the United Kingdom organisation that promotes informed consumer choice by testing products.

However, in 1981, Consumers’ Research was sold to conservative commentator  M. Stanton Evans . It completely abandoned its previous core mission, moved its headquarters to Washington, D.C., and entirely stopped assessing products. Its New Jersey testing laboratories were closed down by 1983.

The organisation went dormant in 2000 before being resurrected over 20 years later as a Republican-aligned group, launching a campaign against so-called woke companies in 2021, and seeking to “[put] corporations on notice” and expose “numerous companies that have chosen to put woke politics above consumer interests”.

They have a section on their website which encourages visitors to report “companies who are going woke.”

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In 2022, Consumers’ Research was instrumental in forcing insurance company State Farm to drop a partnership with GenderCool, a group that shares positive stories about transgender and nonbinary youth.

Consumers’ Research ran an advertising campaign calling State Farm “a creepy neighbour” and accusing the insurance company of targeting children with books about gender identity. State Farm dropped their support.

Black & Decker boycott

In urging a boycott of Stanley Black & Decker, the group says: “Stanley Black & Decker should focus on its customers, not woke politicians”, and urges customers to “contact Stanley Black & Decker and demand that they drop their ESG [environmental, social and governance] commitments and stop their DEI hiring practices”.

In a threat shared on X/Twitter, Will Hild, Consumers’ Research’s executive director, labelled Black & Decker “the latest formerly great American company to become tools of the radical left”, adding: “The company has abandoned their consumer focus and instead now says their ‘highest priority’ is advancing DEI both internally and externally.”

The tool-maker is the latest US firm to be targeted by conservative bigotry as culture wars continue to rage.

The backlash to businesses with DEI commitments have become the focus of right-wing pundit and failed political hopeful Robby Starbuck.

In recent months, Starbuck has stirred up social media storms against brands such as Harley-Davidson , Jack Daniel’s , Ford , Lowe’s and John Deere . A number of the companies have caved in and issued internal memos announcing they will abandon DEI commitments, such as support for Pride festivals, end partnerships with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and stop commenting on “polarising” issues.

Starbuck, who produced an anti-trans film that was banned by Amazon’s streaming service , has insisted in several posts that “we are winning, and one by one we will bring sanity back to corporate America”.

It’s not just Starbuck driving the fight. Former president Donald Trump has also been  highly critical of DEI initiatives , while  Project 2025  – hard-line right-wing policy group The Heritage Foundation’s vision for a second Trump administration – has attacked equality measures within government agencies. 

The HRC has been critical of Starbuck, labelling him a “MAGA weirdo” and condemning businesses for “cowering” to him.

“This is obviously something that is having a moment, so to speak,” Eric Bloem, HRC’s vice-president of programmes and corporate advocacy, told USA Today . “This notion that we need a return to sanity or a return to neutrality is something that doesn’t resonate with people who are legitimately focused on business outcomes.”

HRC’s 2024 LGBTQ+ Climate Survey found that more than 80 per cent of LGBTQ+ people would boycott a company which rolled back DEI commitments, with more than half saying they would urge others to also not buy goods from such businesses.

Orlando Gonzales, HRC senior vice-president programmes, research and training, said: “The LGBTQ+ community is an economic powerhouse, and we want to work for and support companies who support us. “Attacks on DEI initiatives are short-sighted and make our workplaces less safe and less inclusive for hard-working Americans of all demographics and backgrounds.

“This new data confirms that companies like [brewers] Molson-Coors, Ford and others that abandon their values and backtrack from commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion, risk losing both top employee talent and consumer dollars.”

Share your thoughts!  Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.

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Will Hild, Executive Director of Consumers’ Research, joins Mike to discuss how states’ pension funds are used to push a progressive agenda

Will Hild is the Executive Director of Consumers’ Research. Consumers’ Research is a 501 non-profit organization established in 1929 by Stuart Chase and F. J. Schlink after the success of their book Your Money’s Worth: a study in the waste of the Consumer’s Dollar galvanized interest in testing products on behalf of consumers. Will Hild joins Mike to explain how huge asset managers in states are using states’ pension funds to further progressive agendas. This is why there is such a big pushback against ESG.

Go to  https://consumersresearch.org/ for all the information!

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ESG Backlash:

The Little-Known Group That's Battling Wall Street Over ESG

Will Hild’s Consumers’ Research is targeting Bank of America in its latest push against sustainable investing.

Will Hild is leading the anti-environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) fight against sustainable investing by targeting BlackRock Inc. and Bank of America.

Operating with a meager budget from a suburban home outside Washington, Will Hild is gearing up for his next battle against Wall Street and the forces behind ESG investing. Hild and his tiny staff at Consumers’ Research are at the forefront of the movement, crafting adversarial campaigns that attack money managers who try to combine profits with altruistic goals by using environmental, social and governance metrics to help decide where to invest. The 37-year-old Hild, backed by powerful right-wing operative Leonard Leo , is part of a network of conservatives committed to defeating ESG, many of them opposed to efforts to mitigate climate change.

He works behind the scenes crisscrossing the nation to lobby Republican state officials to take up the cause, but Hild is equally comfortable being out front—sending bombastic text messages about the evils of “woke” corporations or making media appearances touting ESG as a threat to America.

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Consumers’ Research Head Breaks Down Dangers of ESG Policies in Investing

"Here's the only definition of ESG you really need to remember: ESG is when the financial services industry uses their market power to push through environmental and social policy that they could not get passed through the ballot box," Will Hild of Consumers' Research says. (Photo illustration: Andrzej Rostek/Getty Images)

Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, has a message for everyday Americans.

“Here’s the only definition of ESG you really need to remember,” Hild says, talking about environmental, social, and governance standards. “ESG is when the financial services industry uses their market power to push through environmental and social policy that they could not get passed through the ballot box.”

“So, take the E for example, that stands for environment. What that really means is pushing companies to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” Hild says.

“S stands for social,” he adds. “What that really means is pushing companies to engage in LGBTQ propaganda, transgender ideology, pro-choice propaganda or policies at the corporate board level, or weighing into board makeup of companies in terms of setting racial and sexual quotas at the board level.”

“And then, the G … stands for governance, and that’s really just the enforcement mechanism,” he adds.

Consumers’ Research, a nonprofit founded in 1929, describes itself as “an independent educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase the knowledge and understanding of issues, policies, products, and services of concern to consumers and to promote the freedom to act on that knowledge and understanding.”

Hild joins today’s episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the long-term effects of ESG policies, his thoughts on House Republicans’ focus on the subject, and two types of legislation that have been passed on ESG at the state level.

Listen to the podcast below or read the lightly edited transcript:

Samantha Aschieris: Joining today’s episode is Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research. Will, thanks so much for joining us today.

Will Hild: Thanks for having me.

Aschieris: Consumers’ Research has been one of the leaders fighting back against ESG—or environmental, social, and governance—policies. It’s certainly a topic that’s been making news more recently. We’ve seen congressional hearings being held on it. If you were to meet someone who had never heard of ESG policies before, how would you describe these policies to them?

Hild: That’s a great question. Well, obviously, ESG is an acronym. I’ll go into what the actual letters mean. Here’s the only definition of ESG you really need to remember: ESG is when the financial services industry uses their market power to push through environmental and social policy that they could not get passed through the ballot box.

So, take the “E” for example, that stands for environment. What that really means is pushing companies to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“S” stands for social. What that really means is pushing companies to engage in LGBTQ propaganda, transgender ideology, pro-choice propaganda or policies at the corporate board level, or weighing into board makeup of companies in terms of setting racial and sexual quotas at the board level.

And then, the “G” is really just the enforcement mechanism that they use that stands for governance, and that’s really just the enforcement mechanism. They use the stick and the carrot to hit these companies with, to get them to do what Larry Fink and other asset managers want them to do.

Aschieris: I do want to talk about Larry Fink. But before we do that—we’ll talk about him a little bit later—I wanted to get your thoughts on, in continuing this conversation, maybe with someone who doesn’t know ESG policies, what they are, what are some of the dangers with using ESG policies in investing, for example?

Hild: Certainly. Well, there’s sort of different manifestations of ESG. As I said before, the overall phenomenon is the financial services industry, whether that’s asset managers, banks, or insurers pushing these policies that normally would be set by the legislature of federal or state. But there’s different ways in which they do that.

So the simplest to think about is funds where the ESG is on the label. And in some ways, I would defend people’s right to do this. This is people taking their money and saying, “I want people like BlackRock or Vanguard or State Street to use my money to push these policies,” that’s probably the least offensive part of it.

That is a very small percentage of the overall ESG phenomenon because what these asset managers, for example, have done is they have committed to using all of their assets that they manage across every client to push ESG priorities.

So, for example, let’s say you have a 401(k), you’re invested in the most vanilla thing there is, which is probably the S&P 500 Index Fund, you just own a broad swath of the entire economy.

If you have that fund with the iShares fund, that’s the BlackRock brand fund, you are invested in an ESG fund even though you didn’t sign up for that because Larry uses the stocks in that portfolio to push at the corporate board level his ESG priorities, which I said before is pushing net-zero targets, pushing social policy.

And the danger is that the way a free market is really supposed to work, the reason we have this cool thing that allows us to allocate capital very well toward new ventures is you actually need disagreement. You need people saying, “No, I think the future is fossil fuels. No, I think the future is fusion. I think the future is wind farms,” that’s fine, too. But they need to be spending their money, betting their money because if they lose, they suffer the consequences.

And over time, the winners will allocate more and more capital, they’ll make more returns. And so the people best at allocating capital will allocate more and more of it over time.

That is not the way ESG works in practice. What happens is, instead of assets being allocated at the investor level where you have some people who want to bet on moonshots and some people who want to bet on normal bread and butter investments, these asset managers go into already existing companies.

So, for example, if you’ve got BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard together own about 25% of most of the major companies in the country, so they go into a company like Exxon. They own those shares because their clients bought these index funds, they’re not allocating their capital differently. What they do is they use the power of owning their shares to force Exxon to allocate its capital differently.

So, I know that’s a very nuanced difference, but instead of the investors risking their money, they are pushing companies that are already good at one thing or the other to do something else.

So they go into Exxon that’s, obviously, got a decadeslong track record of being good at oil, gas discovery and recovery and delivery to the ultimate to consumer. And they say, “We don’t want you to do that anymore. We want you to get into things you know nothing about, solar panels and wind farms.”

The danger here is not only is the consumer made worse off by companies doing not what they’re good at and not focusing on their consumers, but focusing on what Larry Fink and others want, but those other investors, the other 75% of the shares, they’re carried along in the ride for this.

So you could say, “Well, they could vote differently,” because of the concentration of power in these large asset managers, just that 25% allows them to set the agenda for the entire company.

So, really, two groups are hurt by this: you have your consumers who are worse off because the company isn’t focusing on what they should be serving their consumers and you have the other shareholders who they just wanted to buy an oil company, and now you have Larry Fink forcing them, the company they own into all these green boondoggles that don’t really work.

Aschieris: Just from your experience, you’ve obviously been dealing with ESG policies, the issue itself for a while, what are some examples of companies or businesses using ESG in our everyday lives that people can look to that you could point to as an example?

Hild: Absolutely. Well, whenever I do interviews, I usually get the same question, which is whether it’s the Bud Light thing or Target pushing LGBTQ propaganda on kids, or we did a campaign on State Farm where they were pushing transgender ideology on 5-year-olds.

I always say, “Why are they doing this? Why do they seem so excited almost to go and poke their own customers right in the eye?” Right?

We’re supposed to live in this free market system where every day these companies wake up and think, “How can I build a better mousetrap or a cheaper mousetrap to compete for customer business?” And they seem to be going the other direction.

And that, I think, is the clearest manifestation of this ESG complex. You see it at the retail level with the Dylan Mulvaney nonsense, and I guess, as I mentioned, the Target nonsense, and all these companies just doing stuff that seems offensive to a broad swath of Americans.

And the answer for why is, strangely enough, because of the aggregation of so much power in these large asset managers and in some of these banks as well. I talked about that. They have to worry more about upsetting Larry Fink than they do about upsetting their customers.

Now, I think that’s changing because customers have really gotten fed up with it in the last six months. We’ve seen this huge reservoir of frustration with corporate America really finally be unleashed.

And as a consumer advocate, I fully support that. This is fantastic. Nothing makes me happier than to see consumers feel empowered that they can make a difference in their purchasing decisions.

But that explains how we got here in the first place, because that’s where you see that the retail level, this ESG manifestation may sound like this wonky thing with banks and asset managers, “I don’t even know what that is,” but where you see the manifestation of it is these companies going woke because their real customer is, unfortunately, right now Larry Fink, and not the actual people paying their bills.

Aschieris: And just speaking of Larry Fink, what I wanted to discuss was just last month we saw him saying that he was going to stop using ESG, noting that “it’s been misused by the far left and the far right.” What do you think of this move by Larry Fink?

Hild: Well, this has been his MO from the very moment we launched our multimillion-dollar ad campaign against BlackRock. His tactic—and it hasn’t worked out that well for him, I’m happy to say, but he’s drudging along nevertheless—is to speak out of both sides of his mouth, depending on the audience he’s talking to.

So, he’ll go to Davos and World Economic Forum and brag about all the ways that he’s using his assets to push a far-left agenda. He will write letters to the New York City comptroller and the pension funds of California, who are big clients, and say, “Look at all the ways I’m using your money and all the money that I manage, whether that’s California’s or Florida’s or South Carolina’s or Texas’, to push these far-left agenda items.”

When he gets in front of a more mixed or conservative audience, suddenly his tone changes and he will talk about all the stocks that he owns in the fossil fuel industry and all the ways he’s invested in this.

Now, what he doesn’t go into detail is, when he makes those investments, he uses those investments, as I mentioned before, to push those companies to do destructive things that actually hurt the companies and the consumers.

So, this trying to rebrand and talk out of both sides of his mouth, he basically admitted during that same interview, he’s going to stop using the term ESG, but he’s just going to rebrand it. And it almost seemed like he was brainstorming in real time, he said, “I’ll call it conscientious capitalism, so I’m still conscientious capitalist,” which basically means, “I’m not going to change any of my behaviors. I’m just going to see if I can confuse people by changing what I call them.”

Aschieris: And I just want to talk a little bit more about what we’ve been seeing here in Washington, D.C., with congressional hearings. Republican Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky has named July “ESG Month.” Just last week we had four hearings on ESG. I believe we’re set to have two more this month as well.

What are your thoughts on the focus that we’ve been seeing from congressional leaders, notably in the House, Republican lawmakers on this topic?

Hild: It’s very encouraging to see, and you’re seeing it across multiple committees, both Judiciary, their Oversight Committee has been looking at it, and then Financial Services has gotten into the game.

They were at a bit of a disadvantage earlier in the year because, with the regional banking crisis, they had to focus on that. But I’m so heartened to see Rep. Barr, as you noted, say July is ESG Month. And he has been, I’ll just note, a true champion at the federal level in this fight, introducing some great pieces of legislation—that hopefully will get passed—pushing back on ESG.

And it really, what I would say is that we’ve seen a ton of work done at the state level. We had 15 states pass anti-ESG legislation. That’s not going to be the end of the fight, but that’s a great beginning in those states to start chipping away at the power of these banks and asset managers. And it’s great to see now the federal levels start to come along, even with a divided Congress.

There’s a ton that can be done in these hearings to get these companies I mentioned, BlackRock, speaking out of both sides of their mouth. The problem is, when you’re under oath and you have a threat of perjury if you lie, that makes that tactic a lot more difficult. And so, I’m glad to see the amount of focus that’s been placed here. I hope they will take the time necessary.

Sometimes the ESG phenomenon can be defended if you don’t dig much during the survey, if you got surface-level questions, they will try to say that this is just about making corporations give more information to investors or incorporate different types of risks into the way that they view their business.

As soon as you dig into, “Well, what do you mean by that and where do you get these metrics?”—and it’s funny how all these things line up with the progressive left platform—their excuses start to fall apart and you really start to see what this really is about.

So I’m glad to see what they’ve done so far, and I hope that they will take the time necessary to really dig in and start to tease out these lies and contradictions that the ESG advocates are using.

Aschieris: And you brought up legislation both at the federal and state level. Could you speak to more about what types of legislation have been introduced at the federal level and then I also wanted to ask you about state-level efforts as well?

Hild: Absolutely. Well, at the federal level, what you’ve seen is a push to really get the federal agencies in line with where their mission really is and not pushing ESG.

Both the [Securities and Exchange Commission] and the Department of Labor have both issued rules in the last year that support and push ESG. This is in direct contradiction to both the statutes that their authority supposedly comes from and their mission.

So, for example, the SEC is asked for climate disclosures from every corporation, which is supposedly—their job is to really just focus on publicly traded companies and information that’s material to investors, and they are off on a wild goose chase asking for information that has nothing to do with what the average investor would need.

And in addition, they’ve included in these disclosures information about what the … publicly traded company’s vendors are doing in terms of climate change and their customers are doing.

The SEC is supposed to just have authority over publicly traded companies, but through these disclosures, they are really trying to regulate not just privately-held companies that are vendors to these big corporations, but get down to tracking customer behavior.

It sounds crazy to say, but the net effect of these regulations really is setting the groundwork for a Chinese social credit score-style system when it comes to the average American’s emissions.

And in addition to that, you’ve seen the Department of Labor in direct contradiction of their mandate when it comes to private pension funds across the country to focus on the fiduciary duty. They have issued rules that basically abrogates the asset managers, allows them a free hand to really turn that into whatever they want. And so, what you’ve seen is a huge pushback at the agency level with these rules.

Unfortunately, because a Democrat currently holds the White House and control of some of the other agencies like the [Federal Trade Commission] and the [Justice Department] that would normally be looking into a lot of the, in my opinion, illegal activities that these asset managers are engaging in, that’s probably going to have to wait until there’s a new person in the White House.

Now, at the state level, what you’re seeing is two types of legislation be passed across the country.

The first one is what they call anti-economic discrimination legislation. What that basically says is that if you are at a company like BlackRock, for example, and you’ve said that by 2050 you’re going to use all of your financial might and all of your assets to destroy the fossil fuel industry, the agriculture industry, the gun industry, whatever it is, then, “We are not going to do business with you as a state. You’re not going to manage our pension funds, we’re not going to allow you to do our banking with us. We are not going to let you use our money to attack our financial interests.”

And so, it’s not so much the state is a financial regulator, it’s the state is a market participant expressing its will, just like a lot of people stopped drinking Budweiser because they were attacking the very values of a lot of customers.

And then, the other piece of it is enhancing the fiduciary duty when it comes to managing the state’s assets. There’s already, in most states, a rule that says when you manage the state’s assets, you can only focus on returns for the pension fund. You can’t have what they call mixed motive. You can’t say, “Hey, I’m off saving the whales and also maximizing returns.” You have to focus solely on maximizing returns.

What this legislation does is it comes and says, “Listen, you are signed up for all these groups like Climate Action 100 and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero, where you have committed to using all of your assets under management, including ours, to push these other agenda items. That is de facto evidence that you are acting in a mixed motive. You’ve agreed to use our money for other things, and that is another reason you’re going to be disqualified and in some way, in some cases sued, for violating that fiduciary principle.”

We’ve seen about 15 states pass one or both of those over just the last six months. So, it’s been an incredible wave of anti-ESG legislation we’re seeing at the state level.

Aschieris: Absolutely. Will, just before we go, one final question for you: If you could just break down some of the long-term impacts, if the use of ESG policies is not stopped.

Hild: That is a fantastic question, and I know it sounds hyperbolic to say this, but it’s almost hard to find an area of American life that’s not hurt by this.

So, for one thing, all of the policies that ESG pushes increase costs for consumers because they increase the cost for the people who produce our goods and services every day.

For example, energy is an ingredient in the cost of everything that you use or buy. So, ESG has already contributed to the run-up in inflation that we’ve seen over the last 18 to 24 months, and that’s going to increase even in things that are not the normal.

People tend to think of ESG only in terms of oil and gas, but they’re going to agriculture producers and saying, “We don’t want you using synthetic fertilizers anymore.” Well, synthetic fertilizers are the reason you can go to a grocery store and buy bananas for 29 cents a pound. If you start getting rid of that type of thing, you’re going to see massive increases in the cost of your grocery store. So, the No. 1 thing is cost for consumers.

The second thing is, for retirees, people who rely on the stock market returns, it’s going to cut into corporate profits. And so, shareholder returns are going to decrease, and that’s going to hurt, obviously, retirees and people who are saving for their future for a lot of reasons.

And the last thing I’ll add is that, we didn’t really touch on this, but the big asset managers do not apply their ESG metrics evenly across the globe.

If you are a company in China, for example, they will finance a coal-powered plant in your country. They will finance a natural gas pipeline or power plant. They actually have this weird thing where they will allow companies in China to be increasing their carbon emissions on the “road to net-zero” and be fine helping them do that.

And the net effect is that the companies that are hamstrung are the ones here in the United States and the companies that are helped by ESG are in China. So, it’s not an exaggeration to say that ESG is a huge benefit to China at the cost of American producers. So it hurts our economy in global competition with China.

Really, every single person is hurt by this, from consumers to farmers to factory workers to pensioners. The only people who benefit from ESG are Wall Street fat cats, like Larry Fink and BlackRock, and far-left megalomaniacs, like Wall Street and like Larry Fink and BlackRock. Those are the only two people who are helped by this.

Aschieris: Will, thank you so much for joining us today. Any final thoughts before we go?

Hild: No, just, if people want to get involved, they can visit our website at consumersresearch.org. And we always recommend that people reach out to their elected officials at the state and the federal level.

ESG is a very wonky issue. You don’t have to understand every piece of it to get involved. You call up your state rep, your AG, your governor, even your treasurer, and your elected senators and state-level reps, and just tell them, “I want something done about this. I don’t want my money used to hurt my pocketbook, hurt the issues I care about.” They will hear you. Leave it to them to dig into all the wonky issues that I probably made your eyes roll in the back of your head just talking about it.

Just, if you take one message away from this, call your rep, tell them you want something done, and they will dig into the issue and do something about it.

Aschieris: Well, Will Hild, thank you so much for joining us, executive director of Consumers’ Research. Thanks so much.

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Target CEO accused of telling ‘flat-out lies’ about Pride merchandise backlash by Consumers' Research leader

'consumers remember what target did to target children,' will hild said.

Target CEO scolded by Consumers Research leader over ‘flat-out lies’ about Pride backlash

Consumers Research executive director Will Hild blasted Target CEO Brian Cornell for comments he made about the big box retailer’s LGBTQ Pride merchandise.

Consumers' Research executive director Will Hild blasted Target CEO Brian Cornell for "flat-out lies" made about the big box retailer’s LGBTQ Pride merchandise during a recent interview . 

Last week, Cornell appeared on CNBC where he discussed declining sales, particularly following protests and critiques of its Pride Month merchandise. During the interview, host Becky Quick told Cornell that people felt there were "transgender bathing suits that are being targeted and market to kids" and that Target worked with a designer who was a "devil worshiper."

Cornell responded, "You and I both know, those weren’t true."

Hild, whose Consumers’ Research is on a mission to "fight woke corporations," couldn’t believe what came out of the Target CEO’s mouth.

TARGET HOLDS 'EMERGENCY' MEETING OVER LGBTQ MERCHANDISE IN SOME STORES TO AVOID ‘BUD LIGHT SITUATION’

Consumers Research executive director Will Hild blasted Target CEO Brian Cornell for "flat-out lies" made about the big box retailer’s LGBTQ Pride merchandise.  ((Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images))

"He just flat out lies about what Target did," Hild told Fox News Digital.

"He says that they didn't target children with transgender ideology products, and he says that they didn't work with the devil worshiper. Both of those things are verifiable facts," Hild continued. "They've been reported by a number of different publications, and there's just no question that this was done. He's flat out lying to his customers."

Target worked with the U.K.-based brand Abprallen for Pride Month. The brand has displayed merchandise with messages such as "Satan respects pronouns," and the designer, Erik Carnell, has  espoused Satanic beliefs. As for the women’s style swimsuits that advertise "tuck-friendly construction" to hide male genitalia, they did not come in children’s sizes but were placed in colorful Pride sections surrounded by other items, many of which were for children.

"One additional claim he made is that children were not targeted with these so-called ‘tuck’ bathing suits that were being sold. And that's just not true. They were placed in and among products made for children next to them into the display. If that's not targeting children – if you're putting literally the product next to child's products – I don't know what targeting is," Hild said. 

Target did not respond to a request for comment on criticism from Consumers’ Research.

TARGET CUSTOMERS SHOCKED AFTER COMPANY FEATURES PRIDE ITEMS BY SATANIST PARTNER: DEVIL IS 'HOPE' AND 'LOVE'

Many Target locations across the country feature massive June Pride month displays on an annual basis. (Brian Flood/Fox News)

Conservatives blasted Target for selling Pride swimsuits boasting "tuck-friendly construction" and "extra crotch coverage," presumably to accommodate male genitalia, even if they are made in an otherwise female style. (Brian Flood/Fox News)

When the backlash to Pride merchandise was first brought up during the CNBC interview, Cornell immediately said that some Target employees felt more unsafe at work because customers were so angry. 

"What we saw coming out of Target CEO Cornell in this interview is a common tactic that companies that get in trouble for going woke use, where they try to put their employees safety or some concerns about their employees well-being in front of their mistake," Hild said. 

"They focus on that instead of what they've done to offend their consumer. And consumers should really see this as another finger in their eye," he continued. "This guy is trying to pretend like the customer is the real problem here and not the fact that they were trying to push a far-left radical gender ideology on the children or in their store."

Hild feels Cornell’s strategy is designed to "distract from the fact that he has made his stores unsafe for people to bring their own small children" into the popular retailer. 

"He is the one who made Target stores unsafe for children, for the children of his customers, for children of his employees," Hild said. "And yet he wants to deflect and put the blame back on his own customer base. He's basically blaming you, the customer, for his mistakes."

TARGET CONFIRMS 'ADJUSTMENTS' TO PRIDE PLANS AFTER LGBTQ MERCHANDISE CAUSED 'THREATS' TO EMPLOYEES

Target has been criticized by conservatives for the over-the-top Pride displays, with children’s items particularly irking many customers.  (Brian Flood/Fox News)

Target has featured massive June Pride month displays on an annual basis, but this year’s merchandise caused problems before the celebration of LGBTQ even began when the "tuck" bathing suits went viral. Pride merchandise also includes onesies and rompers for newborn babies, children’s coloring books that featured images of adults kissing, a variety of adult clothing with slogans such as "Super Queer," party supplies, a "Gender Fluid" mug, and a "Grow At Your Own Pace" saucer planter.

At the time, a Target insider told Fox News Digital that the retail juggernaut was taking steps to avoid a "Bud Light situation" after the Pride merchandise infuriated some customers. 

Target then confirmed "adjustments" were made to some in-store Pride displays with some items being removed altogether. Most rank-and-file employees were left in the dark about changes, with many not knowing the Pride sections would be moved and items would be pulled until they noticed it themselves, which irked progressive staffers. 

CONSUMERS CREEPED OUT BY TARGET'S ‘TUCK-FRIENDLY’ WOMEN'S SWIMWEAR: ‘SHOPPING ELSEWHERE’

Later in the CNBC interview, Cornell, who once famously said "woke" capitalism is "great" for their brand, suggested Target is "through" the outrage. 

"He talks about how customers are past this. The backlash is over. This is fantastical thinking," Hild said. "Consumers remember what Target did to target children."

It was also previously revealed that Target partnered with GLSEN, a K-12 education group that focuses on getting districts to adopt policies that will keep parents in the dark about their child's in-school gender transition, providing sexually explicit books to schools for free and  integrating gender ideology at all levels  of curricula in public schools. GLSEN, which had signage inside Target stores’ Pride displays, has received at least $2.1 million in donations from Target. 

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Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick, Hannah Grossman and Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report. 

For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media .

Brian Flood is a media editor/reporter for FOX News Digital. Story tips can be sent to  [email protected]  and on Twitter: @briansflood. 

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U.s. toolmaker under fire for dei hiring and lgbtq lobbying, faces boycott.

"Companies need to focus on serving their customers, not woke politicians," said Will Hild, director of Consumers' Research.

Published: September 9, 2024 12:22pm

Updated: September 9, 2024 12:25pm

U.S. toolmaker Stanley Black and Decker is under fire for embracing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies that conservatives describe as "woke," which could lead to a boycott of the company's products.

According to a new report from the advocacy group Consumers' Research , Stanley Black and Decker, which owns the DeWalt, Black and Decker and Stanley brands, is seeking to increase minority suppliers by at least 10% by next year, donate about $10.5 million to "racial equity" organizations, and require "equity training" sessions for senior level employees.

The report said the $24 billion company spent about $280,000 on lobbying for passage of the Equality Act , which would allow transgender women to play in women's sports.

"Companies need to focus on serving their customers, not woke politicians," said Will Hild, director of Consumers' Research.

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What is Consumers' Research, the group calling out 'woke' corporate branding?

The group launched a seven-figure ad campaign targeting american airlines, nike and coca-cola.

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Consumers' Research, an educational nonprofit dedicated to consumer information, made headlines this week after launching an ad campaign targeting corporations over "woke" political narratives.

The seven-figure campaign calls out  American Airlines ,  Nike  and  Coca-Cola , claiming they have put politicians before their customers.

‘WOKE’ CORPORATIONS CALLED OUT IN AD CAMPAIGN: NIKE, COCA-COLA IN THE FIRING LINE

Consumers' Research Executive Director Will Hild told Fox Business that the group, founded in the year of the Great Crash, 1929, is an independent, educational nonprofit with a mission to protect and inform consumers about products and the marketplace.

Tuesday's launch marked the first phase of the group's Consumers First Initiative targeting "any corporation that tries to use woke politics or [engage] in legislative or political issues that they have no expertise in or are not germane to their business," Consumers' Research Executive Director Will Hild told Fox Business.

"We will come after them," he said.

It is the first ad campaign Consumers' Research has published since its founding "that goes after this specific phenomenon of companies going woke to distract from serious problems with their business and mistreatment of their customers," Hild said. The campaign will continue "as long as corporate America continues to use these tactics."

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"We saw companies trying to distract from problems with their business, but namely, mistreatment of their customers and problems with their protection lines…by getting engaged in political issues and going ‘woke’…cozying up to radical left-wing politicians in order to ignore to distract from their problems and to ignore their customer base," he explained.

The billion-dollar companies mentioned in the three new video ads Consumers' Research published Tuesday have recently issued statements against Republican-led legislation in several states. Coca-Cola and American Airlines have expressed concern with new GOP voting legislation in Georgia and Texas , respectively. 

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The ads will air on cable across the U.S., as well as in local markets where the companies are headquartered.

Consumers' Research has a simple message with its latest campaign: "Stop serving woke politicians. Focus on serving your customers," Hild said.

Consumers’ Research

Consumers’ Research is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that claims to advance “greater consumer knowledge and freedom.” In reality, the group is a leader in the right-wing anti-ESG campaign against “woke capitalism,” spending millions of dollars to publicly shame Fortune 500 CEOs and pressure firms against taking a stand on social justice and political issues.

Key Takeaways

• Originally founded in 1929, but came into its current form in the late 2010s with funding from the Bradley Foundation and Leonard Leo’s dark money network • Is now a leading right-wing force behind anti-ESG and anti-“woke” initiatives targeting corporations • Has received millions since 2019 from DonorsTrust, a dark money organization closely tied to Leonard Leo’s dark money network

Top Leadership

• Will Hild, Executive Director • Beau Brunson, Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs • Tom Miller, Senior Research Fellow

Year Formed

Total revenue in most recent tax year, total expenses in most recent tax year, total assets in most recent tax year.

Consumers’ Research was founded in 1929 with a mission to test consumer products and publish their results in a newsletter. In 1935, the group’s workers unionized , and in a split with management, they incorporated a separate entity that branched off from Consumers’ Research called Consumers Union. Consumers Union went on to publish what is now known as Consumer Reports . From its inception, Consumers’ Research had conservative leanings — the founder “ suspected labor unions of Communist leanings ,” “ refused to recognize the rights of workers to unionize ,” and was “ completely paranoid about Communism ” — but took a hard turn to the right in the early 1980s when M. Stanton Evans stepped in to lead the organization.

Stanton Evans ended the group’s practice of product testing and pivoted into advocacy-oriented activities like promoting the tobacco industry, even working to undermine the science of secondhand smoke.

By the early 2000s, the organization’s revenue had dwindled and eventually hit zero. From 2007 to 2013, the organization reported no revenue. Then, in 2013, the organization was revitalized with large grants from the Bradley Foundation . An analysis of leaked emails found that half of a $500,000 grant to the organization from the Bradley Foundation came from Barre Seid, the conservative megadonor behind a $1.6 billion donation to the Leonard Leo -controlled nonprofit Marble Freedom Trust . From 2019 to 2022, Consumers’ Research’s revenue ballooned from just over $484,000 to over $10.4 million . The explosion in funding can be traced to giving from DonorsTrust, a conservative donor-advised fund that has been called the “dark money ATM of the right,” and an organization closely associated with Leonard Leo. In 2021, the Leo-controlled Marble Freedom Trust issued a $41 million grant to DonorsTrust. 

Will Hild, Executive Director

Will Hild has served as executive director of Consumers’ Research (CR) since 2020. Prior to leading CR, Hild worked as the deputy director of the Federalist Society’s regulatory transparency project and at the Philanthropy Roundtable as the director of external affairs for the Culture of Freedom Initiative.

In his time at CR, Hild has led a campaign against corporate “wokeness” with a particular focus on anti-environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) efforts. The campaign has featured both paid and earned media. Hild regularly speaks at conservative events and with the media about CR’s anti-ESG efforts.

• Hild spoke on a panel titled “What’s Behind the Drive to Promote ESG Investing and What You Need to Know” at the “Awakening” retreat hosted by the Heritage Foundation.
• Hild spoke at a workshop titled “ESG State Initiatives” at a policy summit hosted by ALEC.
• Hild spoke at ALEC’s 2022 Annual Meeting with Jessica Anderson , executive director of Heritage Action, and Lisa Nelson , CEO of ALEC, in a conversation titled “ Politicizing ESG Investing .”
• Hild spoke at Heritage’s 2022 Resource Bank Meeting on a panel titled “Taking on the ESG Overlords,” alongside John Murante, the state treasurer of Nebraska. The talk was moderated by Andy Olivastro, Vice President of Outreach at the Heritage Foundation.

Beau Brunson, Policy Director

Beau Brunson has been the policy director at Consumers’ Research since June 2017 . Prior to joining CR, Brunson was a Congressional staffer, first as an intern for Rep. John Carter and eventually as deputy chief of staff for Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ).

Tom Miller, Senior Research Fellow

Tom Miller is a senior research fellow at Consumers’ Research and a professor of finance at Mississippi State University. Miller holds a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Washington as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Montana.

Miller has written extensively in support of the payday loan industry, which is widely seen as predatory , with a goal of trapping individuals into a cycle of debt.

Anti-Woke Campaigns

Consumers’ Research has invested millions of dollars in advertising that directly attacks private companies for so-called “woke capitalism.” The ads are styled as campaign attack ads, complete with ominous voice-overs, grainy photos, and opposition research. The ads often frame “wokeness” as a way for companies to distract from poor performance, high CEO pay, or financial connections to China.

The ads came as Republicans started to openly attack businesses with so-called “woke” policies. In some cases, Consumers’ Research ads echoed exact talking points used by Republican campaigns. Following the 2022 midterms, Republicans in the House continued their attacks, even going after the Pentagon for policies to make military service more inclusive. The following are examples of campaigns Consumers’ Research has run against American corporations:

They attacked American Airlines after its CEO spoke out against a restrictive voter ID law in Texas.

• They attacked Coca-Cola after the company spoke out against Georgia’s election reform legislation which severely curtailed voting rights. A second ad blitz attacked the company after reporting found it hosted a diversity training featuring a “Confronting Racism” course offered by LinkedIn Education.
• They attacked Nike for being “constantly political,” featuring images depicting the company’s sponsorship deal with Colin Kaepernick.
• They attacked Ticketmaster for “going woke” after its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, signed on to a joint ad featuring over 500 companies and CEOs opposing restrictive voting laws.
• They attacked the MLB after commissioner Rob Manfred moved the All-Star game from Atlanta to Denver following the passage of new voting rights restrictions in Georgia.
• They attacked American Express for its diversity initiatives .
• They attacked Levi’s after its brand president was pressured to leave the company following comments against school closures during the pandemic.
• They attacked Uber after it pledged to help cover legal fees for drivers if sued for assisting women seeking an abortion under restrictive abortion bans in certain states .
• They attacked State Farm with a multi-pronged advertising and media attack that featured multipl e T V spots , digital ads , and two landing pages exposing internal emails. The emails described a program that would provide State Farm agents with books from the Gender Cool Project to distribute within their communities. Agents who decided to participate were encouraged to promote the program and their commitment to diversity on their social media pages. The second landing page included a petition to State Farm in regard to this book donation initiative.

Attacks Against BlackRock and Antisemitism

BlackRock has been on the receiving end of an aggressive attack launched by Consumers’ Research. In severa l ads across TV, radio , and digital, CR attacked BlackRock over the firm’s use of ESG investing strategies. CR reportedly spent $4 million on an ad campaign that directly targeted BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. CR also published two websites targeting BlackRock; one was a landing page featuring a graphic of Larry Fink with Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng and Russian President Vladimir Putin, while the second issued a “warning” about BlackRock and featured CR’s digital and TV ads.

Consumers’ Research’s attacks on BlackRock and Larry Fink invoked an ominous future of high energy prices, an emboldened China, and a less free America. On Twitter, CR executive director Will Hild framed BlackRock and Larry Fink as members of a “ cabal of global elites ,” as a “ cabal of woke activists ,” and as “ globalist stakeholders .” Both the terms “ caba l ” and “ globalist ” and the portrayal of elite bankers being anti-American globalists have deep antisemitic roots.

The words cabal and globalist are featured in the American Jewish Committee’s Hate Glossary .

The Washington Post noted CR’s deployment of antisemitism in a 2023 profile of the group: “It’s a familiar playbook, similar to the one the right uses against progressive billionaires George Soros and Mike Bloomberg: Elitist globalists expand their power by taking away your freedom. Like Fink, those two men are Jewish.” CR Executive Director Will Hild denied that the campaign was antisemitic, saying his wife and children were Jewish.

Additional examples of Hild’s antisemitic framing include:

• Hild quoted Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall saying “ an unelected cabal of global elites is using ESG to hijack our capitalist system .”
• Hild tweeted that “ Larry Fink brags about being a ‘proud globalist .’”
• Hild quoted West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore saying, “‘ it’s very clear Larry Fink and other elite globalists have a God-complex .”
• Hild quoted Silicon Valley venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale’s ESG criticism that “ it’s very dangerous in any society for a small cabal of people to have power top-down .”

In addition to Hild’s tweets, Hild has vocally praised former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who “ embraced ” extreme white supremacist views and enjoyed a “ symbiotic relationship with the

far-right .” Hild said Carlson “ helped shine a light on a myriad of important issues, including the ESG scam .” And Hild even suggested that Larry Fink was behind Carlson’s firing, tying it to Fink’s efforts to “ push his progressive ESG agenda .”

Attack Against Bank of America

Hild announced an upcoming Consumers’ Research campaign targeting Bank of America based on their attacks on BlackRock. Hild said the campaign against BofA would not be a “one-off hit.” Bloomberg Law reported that the campaign would involve “ads on cable news networks pressing the issue, and drive mobile billboards around Bank of America’s headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, its offices in midtown Manhattan and some of its busiest branches in states from Arizona to Florida.”

“Woke Alerts”

In April 2023, Consumers’ Research launched a texting program to alert users to so-called “woke capitalism.” The “woke alerts” program employed political campaign-style tactics to drive messaging and engagement. CR reportedly put over $100,000 into the campaign. The alerts focus on culture war issues, including opposition to corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and have echoed far-right warnings against the indoctrination of children. Examples of corporate “woke alerts” include:

• Attacking Bud Light over its beer cans that featured trans activist Dylan Mulvaney.
• Attacking Target for an “LGBTQ+ kids clothing collection” and selling books that “indoctrinate kids” during Pride Month.
• Attacking Kroger for allegedly firing employees who refused to wear aprons with rainbow hearts during Pride Month. The alert also critically noted that Kroger had previously recalled pro-American merchandise from stores, and that it offered to pay travel expenses for employees seeking abortions following the Dobbs decision.
• Attacking Jack Daniels after an ad featuring three drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race promoted the whisky brand. The 2021 ad resurfaced as the culture war surrounding LGBTQ+ activism intensified.

Pro-Business and Anti- Consumer

In direct opposition to its stated mission to “increase the knowledge and understanding of issues, policies, products, and services of concern to consumers…” Consumers’ Research has a history of promoting the interests of businesses and against the health and safety of consumers. Examples of pro-business positions include :

• Opposing fuel efficiency standards, the science behind climate change, and rules limiting cancer-causing products.
• Advocating for the payday lending industry.
• Opposing the Affordable Care Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
• Standing with big tobacco and advocating against secondhand smoking regulations.

Legal Action

Fcc lawsuit.

In 2022, Consumers’ Research sued the FCC over a FCC Universal Service Contribution order, claiming the communications act unconstitutionally delegated “ legislative and/or taxing authority ” to the agency. CR’s lawsuit was an attempt to eliminate the Universal Service Fund and the Universal Service Administrative Company, the agency that oversees the USF. The Universal Service Fund is paid into by telecommunications companies and redistributed through four programs that target rural high cost areas, schools, libraries, and rural health care.

The case was heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, a deeply conservative court with 12 of 17 judges named by Republican presidents. The Fifth Circuit ruled against CR, disagreeing with its claim that the FCC had inappropriately delegated taxing authority to a nonprofit corporation. The Court wrote that “federal statutory law expressly subordinates USAC to the FCC…(providing that USAC ‘may not make policy, interpret unclear provisions of the statute or rules, or interpret the intent of Congress’).”

In 2021, Consumers’ Research received nearly $6 million from DonorsTrust , an influential right-wing donor group dubbed the “dark money atm of the right.” This DonorsTrust donation accounted for roughly 75% of CR’s funding in 2021. The following year, DonorsTrust increased its giving to Consumers’ Research, giving them over $9 million, accounting for over 86% of CR’s funding in 2022. 

Consumers’ Research Finances From 2019- 2022:

DonorsTrust Grants To Consumers’ Research From 2019- 2022

In 2021 , Consumers’ Research granted $150,000 to the State Financial Officers Foundation, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting so-called “ woke capitalism ,” increasing American oil and gas production, and attacking ESG efforts. In 2022 , it increased that funding of the State Financial Officers Foundation to $317,000, and also gave to a number of other conservative causes, including the dark money Bradley Impact Fund.

Ties to Other Groups and People

Crc advisors and leonard leo.

CRC Advisors is a consulting and public relations firm led by Leonard Leo – deemed “ arguably the most powerful figure in the federal justice system ” – with influence across the conservative landscape. Originally called CRC Public Relations, the firm first gained mainstream prominence for its role in a smear campaign against John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election. The organization has played a key role in supporting Leo’s Supreme Court fights since the nomination of Justice Samuel Alito.

In 2020, Leonard Leo and his longtime associate, Greg Mueller, launched the rebranded CRC Advisors. Leo stepped down as executive vice president of the Federalist Society — though he retained the title co-chairman — to form the new CRC Advisors entity. Leo is best known for operating a “ network of interlocking nonprofits ” that aggressively support conservative judges and champion right-wing causes through “dark money” campaigns.

In addition to the professional ties between Consumers’ Research and CRC Advisors, Leo has spoken positively about CR to the press. In an interview with the Washington Post , Leo said : “ Consumers’ Research and its leader Will Hild are executing the most impactful pushback I know against ESG and other aspects of woke corporate culture.” Consumers’ Research executive director Will Hild has also spoken favorably of Leo, calling him “a good friend and adviser to Consumers’ Research.”

Between 2013 and 2019, Consumers’ Research paid CRC Advisors over $600,000 for public relations work. In 2020, CR paid CRC Advisors nearly $113,000, followed by a whopping nearly $625,000 in 2021.

In October 2022, the New York Times reported that Leo said “the woke capitalism battle is a very high priority for me, and I am very excited about what Consumers’ Research is doing.” The Times went on to report that Consumers’ Research was “resuscitated a decade later as a Republican-aligned group working partly to topple federal environmental laws, using millions of dollars from donors with connections to Mr. Leo,” and that “about two months after” Leo’s Marble Freedom Trust processed a $1.6 billion contribution from right-wing megadonor Barre Seid, “Consumers’ Research began an anti-E.S.G. campaign on which it says it has spent nearly $10 million — more than it had spent in the previous seven years combined.”

Leo is also closely connected to the Concord Fund, a nonprofit that has played a significant role in the confirmation of conservative justices to the Supreme Court and gives millions to conservative causes. In 2022, the Concord Fund gave Consumers Defense , an arm of Consumers’ Research, $350,000. This funding came shortly before Consumers’ Research waged a campaign against Bud Light for its sponsorship of transgender activist and influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Jones Day is one of the largest law firms in the United States, with thousands of attorneys and countless national and international offices. The firm made a name for itself by partnering with some of the worst corporate actors, including cigarette company RJ Reynolds, OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma, gunmaker Smith & Wesson, and the National Rifle Association. Over the last decade, the firm has placed an increased focus on its political practice and now represents individuals and super PACs across the conservative spectrum, including : former President Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, Senator Susan Collins, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Senator Ron Johnson, Senator Marsha Blackburn, the National Republican Campaign Committee, the Republican National Committee, and the Trump Victory PAC, among others.

In 2021, Consumers’ Research paid Jones Day nearly $1.7 million for “public relations.”

Donors Trust

DonorsTrust is one of contemporary American politics’ most influential conservative donor-advised funds. In 2013, Mother Jones dubbed DonorsTrust the “ dark-money ATM of the right .” Contributions to DonorsTrust in 2021 amounted to nearly $1.1 billion , the group’s largest annual intake of donations on record. The income included closely held common stock in a C-corporation with an end-of-year market value of more than $431 million. The following year, it still took in over $300 million .

Donors Trust funneled over $16.2 million to Consumers’ Research between 2019 and 2022, accounting for over 82% of the organization’s revenue in that time frame. 

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True Crime Consumer Report

The True Crime Consumer Report from Edison Research with audiochuck media company

The True Crime Consumer Report by Edison Research and audiochuck 

The true crime consumer report by edison research and audiochuck debuts at podcast movement  .

True Crime is the third most listened-to genre in podcasting in the U.S.

The report includes data from online interviews of 3,148 U.S. individuals age 13 and older and in-depth interviews with True Crime consumers were conducted with podcast listeners and podcast non-listeners. Among the findings: 84% of the U.S. population age 13+ watch or listen to True Crime through any medium – television, YouTube, social media, or podcasting; an estimated 230 million consumers. Forty-two percent of the U.S. population age 13+ are True Crime podcast listeners, an estimated 119 million Americans. Fifty-seven percent of True Crime podcast listeners think True Crime stories are fascinating, 50% like to participate in solving the mystery, and 50% say they like the suspense/thrill of True Crime. Among U.S. weekly podcast listeners age 13+, 22% listen to True Crime podcasts, making it the third most listened-to genre in podcasting. Eighty-nine percent  of U.S. Weekly Podcast Listeners age 13+ have ever binged True Crime podcasts.

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Consumers’ Research was founded in 1929 with the mission to educate and protect consumers from harmful products.

Fredrick J. Schlink, the founder of Consumers’ Research, started the organization with the intent to answer the question “Who – or what – best serves the consumer?” during a time when there were little to no consumer protection laws or oversight.

Consumers’ Research quickly became a top resource for consumer advocacy and product testing. Today, these values still hold true, as Consumers’ Research has evolved from a product-focused organization to a broader consumer advocacy organization – focused on educating consumers on the policies, products and services of concern to them and to promote the freedom to act on that knowledge and understanding.

Read about founder Fredrick J. Schlink here

Read about former Executive Director M. Stanton Evans here

Establishment

Consumers’ Research founder Frederick J. Schlink published the first Consumers’ Club Bulletin

Consumers’ Research incorporated in New York

Arthur Kallet and Frederick J. Schlink published the consumer defense book 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs

Consumers’ Research consumer product testing lab opened

Consumers’ Research Bulletin is first published

Consumers’ Research Magazine published

Consumers’ Research sold to M. Stanton Evans and moved to Washington, D.C.

Consumers’ Research shut down the consumer product testing lab and shifted focus to the Consumers’ Research Magazine

M. Stanton Evans published articles critical of the federal healthcare policies known as HillaryCare, showcasing Consumers’ Research move from strictly product analysis to consumer impacts from government programs, laws, and regulation

M. Stanton Evans published an essay in the Consumers’ Research Bulletin , about federal regulations in relation to gas prices and the impacts it has on the industry’s ability to adapt for the consumer

Consumers’ Research began an extensive examination on the half-measure deregulation of the airline industry, concluding the biggest problem for consumers is the limited competition which allowed little incentive for the industry to focus on consumer satisfaction

Consumers’ Research analyzed the effects of government intervention in telecommunications access, concluding government intervention has not improved services for the consumer

Consumers’ Research hosts its first Bretton Woods Conference, bringing together leaders from various backgrounds to build consensus on the perception, regulation, and adoption of technologies such as cryptocurrency for the benefit of consumers. Consumers’ Research would go on to host crypto-related conferences for several years.

Consumers’ Research releases Bretton Woods Summit Paper—”Guiding Principles on Consumer Protection Best Practices for Businesses Working with Digital Currencies and other Blockchain-Derived Distributed Technology Assets”— cementing its commitment to focusing on the relationship between consumers and the evolving crypto industry.

Will Hild became Consumers’ Research executive director

Consumers First Initiative launched, putting corporations on notice that they need to start serving their customers, not woke politicians

For more information on the history of Consumers’ Research visit Rutgers University Archives

To see more of Consumers’ Research past work, visit the archived website

View the contact page for more contact and location information

ESB and Trinity's ADAPT and CONNECT Research Centres Join Forces to Advance Energy Sector Innovation

Two major research initiatives have been launched by ESB in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin's ADAPT and CONNECT research centres. The goal is to empower large energy consumers to make more informed decisions about their energy use, benefiting both the environment and Ireland's green agenda.

The project teams gathered at Trinity College Dublin's Long Room in front of the art installation ‘Gaia,’ symbolizing their shared dedication to understanding and preserving the complex interconnections within the world. Pictured from left to right are Dr. Michelle Olmstead, Chief Innovation and Enterprise Officer at Trinity; Professor Marco Ruffini of CONNECT; Geraldine Moloney from ESB; and Professor Hitesh Tewari of ADAPT.

The research aims to accelerate technological innovation to drive the energy transition and help Ireland meet its carbon reduction targets. The two collaborative projects, scheduled to run for 18 months, will deliver tangible societal benefits in the fight against climate change.

CONNECT Partnership

Led by Professor Marco Ruffini, the project with CONNECT will focus on utilizing data from the electrical grid to optimize energy use for large energy users (LEUs), such as data centres and pharmaceutical plants. By leveraging detailed market-based data models, LEUs will be able to make more informed energy consumption decisions, balancing demand and supply more efficiently.

ADAPT Partnership

The collaboration with ADAPT, spearheaded by Professor Hitesh Tewari, will tackle challenges within the Guarantee of Origin (GO) certification market. GO certificates verify that power is sourced from renewable energy. This research will explore new, blockchain-powered methods for real-time certificate generation and distribution, improving transparency and reducing delays in the process, ensuring timely use by green energy consumers.

Addressing the Energy Crisis

In the face of growing energy demand, which has strained fossil fuel reserves and led to increased costs and emissions, ESB has focused on incorporating renewable energy sources to meet demand sustainably. The partnership with Trinity College is a crucial step in this effort.

Leadership Perspectives

Geraldine Moloney, Head of New Ventures at ESB, emphasized the importance of collaboration: “ESB is thrilled to partner with ADAPT and CONNECT at Trinity College Dublin. Through research and innovation, we aim to progress towards our Net Zero emissions target by 2040. Partnerships like this are vital to addressing the challenges of energy consumption and driving the transition to cleaner energy.”

Professor Marco Ruffini highlighted the project’s potential: “Efficient resource allocation is key to sustainability and cost savings. In this collaboration, we will create an intelligent task scheduler that optimizes energy use by considering real-time energy price fluctuations. This approach will reduce operational costs while maximizing the use of green energy.”

Professor Hitesh Tewari expressed excitement about the opportunity to apply blockchain technology: “This collaboration with ESB is an exciting chance to showcase the potential of Distributed Ledger Technology in creating and distributing GO certificates. It will allow large energy users to confidently confirm that they are utilizing renewable energy for their operations.”

Dr. Michelle Olmstead, Chief Innovation and Enterprise Officer at Trinity, concluded: “This partnership exemplifies ESB's commitment to leading the energy transition through innovation. At Trinity, we are committed to leveraging our research expertise to address climate change by partnering with forward-thinking organizations like ESB. Together, we are fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship to create real impact.”

This collaboration is expected to set new standards in energy consumption and management, significantly advancing Ireland’s clean energy future.