New Approaches of Consumers’ Protection in Terms of Management Systems’ International Standards Evolution

This paper grew out of the central issue addressed in Trading Up: Consumer and Environmental Regulation in a Global Economy by David Vogel, namely the impact of economic globalization on consumers’ protection regulations. Reviewing the extensive matter of consumer protection, with a thorough analysis of European Union last issued data, the paper summarizes and analyzes the contributions of ISO quality management standards to consumers’ protection based on a chain of logically connected concepts and activities. The approach was double-sided, intercrossing the qualitative and quantitative arguments joined with the analysis of the correlation between the efforts and effects in consumers’ protection area. Due to a yet continue divergence regarding the regulatory processes, of a visible movement to the development and implementation of more stringent standards as well as a new means for implementing integrated quality management systems, the paper suggests and develops an implementation model of integrated quality management systems, based on Jorgensen 2006 model and improved through adding the new ISO 26000 standard.