Consumer protection ensures that consumers can make well-informed decisions about their choices of goods and services.

Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace.  It protects consumers from unfair trade practices, environmental hazards and deceptive advertising.

State and federal laws protect consumers in a variety of ways.  These laws are intended to prevent businesses from engaging in fraud or specified unfair practices to gain an advantage over competitors or to mislead consumers. They may also provide additional protection for the general public which may be impacted by a product (or its production) even when they are not the direct purchaser or consumer of that product. Entities that promote consumer protection include government organizations (such as the Federal Trade Commission in the United States), self-regulating business organizations (such as the Better Business Bureaus in the US, Canada, England, etc.), and non-governmental organizations that advocate for consumer protection laws and help to ensure their enforcement (such as consumer protection agencies and watchdog groups).