Consumers Union (CU) is the publisher of Consumer Reports, Consumer Reports Travel Letter, and other periodicals and books. It was started in 1936. At the time of its inception, it was such a radical concept that letters to the editor were identified only by initials (W.J.C., Washington, DC), a practice that has only recently been dropped. It was listed by the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) as a subversive publication until 1954.
CU remains the best source of impartial consumer information in the USA. It now has a Web presence . Since it does not accept advertising or corporate sponsorships, it cannot subsidize its web products as other publications do.