International Consumer Research & Testing

International Consumer Research & Testing ( ICRT ) is an umbrella organization founded in 1990, with international operations for the management of jointly executed comparative product testing, market and product research. The headquarters is located in London, and there is a field office in Brussels.

Objectives

The objectives of the organization is to reduce the total cost and the total cost of product testing through international cooperation and to harmonize the test methods belongs. Community tests must be carried out according to the rules laid down by ICRT. Moreover, common practices, tools and resources are provided by ICRT.

Members

All members are consumer organizations, which operate no product advertising in their publications and are independent of trade, industry and politics. There are over 40 consumer organizations, which have a membership with ICRT world. Among the most important represented in the Council of ICRT member organizations include the Stiftung Warentest ( Germany ), Consumers Union (USA), Verbruikersunie (Belgium ), Que choisir (France), Which? ( United Kingdom) and Consumers' (The Netherlands ).

From the German side by the end of 2011, the Board of Stiftung Warentest, Werner Brinkmann, member of the Board of ICRT .. He was succeeded in 2012, the new Board of Stiftung Warentest, Hubertus Primus.

Organization

The organization is headed by Guido Adriaenssens since 1999 and performs annually about 50 collaborative inquiry through to about 3500 products. The consumer products such as digital cameras, mobile phones, televisions, automobiles, washing machines, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners or bulbs. The investigations are carried out in independent testing laboratories.

ICRT is cooperating with the European Consumers' Organisation in Brussels ( BEUC) and Consumers International in London ( CI).