Consumers’ Research

Background

Consumers’ Research is a Virginia-based nonprofit that describes its mission as increasing “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.”¹ The group is widely known for its campaigns against companies and investment firms over what it describes as “woke capitalism.”²

The group was founded in 1929, with a primary focus on consumer products.³ In 1935, some Consumers’ Research employees began to unionize and went on strike for fairer pay. ⁴ ⁵ ⁶

The striking employees were subsequently fired and formed a separate organization, Consumers Union, in 1936, which later became Consumer Reports. Consumers Union “enlisted the help of scientists, investigative journalists, engineers, and other professionals to create a new, community-based product research and consumer advocacy organization.”⁷Meanwhile, Consumers’ Research continued to focus largely on product assessments until the 1980s, when it then turned to criticizing policy.⁸

Ties to Leonard Leo

Consumers’ Research is closely tied to the conservative activist Leonard Leo, the co-chairman of the Federalist Society who is widely credited with orchestrating the U.S. Supreme Court conservative majority:

In 2013, Consumers’ Research received a major cash infusion. According to a True North Research report, these funds appeared to be linked to Barre Seid, a conservative megadonor and Chicago businessman. Seid later gave Leonard Leo control of $1.6 billion to spend on conservative causes.⁹ ¹⁰
In 2020, trusted Leo mentee Will Hild became executive director.¹¹ Hild has called Leo a “good friend and adviser to Consumers’ Research.”¹² Prior to that, Hild worked at several other conservative organizations, including the Federalist Society, where Leo served as vice president.¹³¹⁴

One year after Will Hild became executive director in 2020, Consumers’ Research received another major cash boost in 2021. Tax filings show the nonprofit’s funding increased from $835,000 in 2020 to more than $8 million in 2021.¹⁵ The largest donations that year came from DonorsTrust, the conservative donor-advised fund which has been described as the “dark money ATM” of the conservative movement.¹⁶

The increase in cash coincided with a shift in focus. The group embraced the term “woke capitalism” and ran campaigns against major companies and investment firms around the issue. The Washington Post reported in 2023 that the group saw itself at the time as part of “a political alliance that can scrutinize and possibly derail the environmental, social, and governance — or ESG — goals of corporations and the Biden administration.”¹⁷

Funding

The following is based on DeSmog’s review of publicly available 990 tax forms:

Consumers’ Research as Recipient

Consumers’ Research as Donor

Consumers’ Research Third Party Contractors

990 Forms

Key People

Actions

June 2026

Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild was listed as a speaker at the June 2026 conference held by the UK-based Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC), an international network made up of far-right leaders and thought leaders.¹⁸ ¹⁹

At the conference, which took place June 23-25 in London, Hild spoke to an audience about how to persuade corporate leaders to back away from climate pledges. “You just need the will to really put the screws to them,” Hild said. Hild appeared alongside speakers including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Silicon Valley investor Marc Andreesen, and Toby Rice, CEO of the gas fracking company EQT.²⁰

Hild also said that Consumers’ Research has “run seven-figure ad campaigns calling out corporations for this type of bad action,” referring to companies that factor climate and other environmental considerations into their investment strategies. The goal when it comes to companies that support climate-focused investing, Hild added, “is to torture them psychologically until they stop doing it.”²¹

Contact & Address

According to the Consumers’ Research website:²²

8300 Boone Boulevard
Suite 500
Vienna, VA 22182

@ConsumersFirst on X.
@ConsumersResearch on YouTube.

Other Resources

Consumers’ Research SourceWatch profile.

Resources

1
“About Consumers’ Research,” Consumers’ Research. Archived February 21, 2026. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
2
Eamon Javers. “Conservation group launches ad campaign against ‘woke capitalism,’ targeting CEOs by name,” CNBC, May 18, 2021. Archived July 23, 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
3
Steven Mufson. “This group is sharpening the GOP attack on ‘woke’ Wall Street,” The Washington Post, January 30, 2023. Archived January 31, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
4
“Consumers Union,” Company-Histories.com. Archived February 18, 2026. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
5
”Consumers Union,” International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 26. St. James Press, 1999, pgs. 97-99. Archived December 15, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
6
“About Consumer Reports,” Consumer Reports Archives, Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History, Rubenstein Library, Duke University Libraries. Archived March 6, 2026. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
7
Jeremy Salvucci. “Consumer Reports: The product-testing nonprofit explained,” TheStreet, April 7, 2025. Archived January 16, 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
8
Steven Mufson. “This group is sharpening the GOP attack on ‘woke’ Wall Street,” The Washington Post, January 30, 2023. Archived January 31, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
9
Evan Vorpahl. “The New Anti-‘Woke’ Advertiser Is a Dark Money Group Made from an Old Brand and Fueled by Secret Cash,” True North Research, July 9, 2021. Archived November 23, 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
10
Andrew Perez, The Lever, Andy Kroll, and Justin Elliot. “How a Secretive Billionaire Handed His Fortune to the Architect of the Right-Wing Takeover of the Courts,” ProPublica, August 22, 2022. Archived March 2, 2026. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
11
Steven Mufson. “This group is sharpening the GOP attack on ‘woke’ Wall Street,” The Washington Post, January 30, 2023. Archived July 25, 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
12
“Consumers’ Research Inc. 2020 990,” ProPublica. Archived June 12, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
13
“Will Hild,” Federalist Society. Archived February 26, 2026. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
14
“Leonard Leo,” Federalist Society. Archived February 16, 2026. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
15
“Consumers Research Inc.,” ProPublica. Archived September 14, 2025. Archived .pdf on file on DeSmog.
16
Andy Kroll. “Exposed: The Dark-Money ATM of the Conservative Movement,” Mother Jones, February 5, 2013. Archived February 16, 2026. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
17
Steven Mufson. “This group is sharpening the GOP attack on ‘woke’ Wall Street,” The Washington Post, January 30, 2023. Archived July 25, 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
18
“ARC Conference 2026 Speakers,” ARC Conference. Archived June 21, 2026. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
19
Unearthed Reporters, and Sam Bright. “Senior UK Politicians to Mix With Oil Execs, Far-Right Figures, and Anti-Abortion Activists at London Conference,” DeSmog, June 18, 2026. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.
20
Geoff Dembicki. “Leonard Leo’s Anti-Climate Network Makes a European Debut,” DeSmog, July 14, 2026.
21
Geoff Dembicki. “Leonard Leo’s Anti-Climate Network Makes a European Debut,” DeSmog, July 14, 2026.
22
“About Consumers’ Research,” Consumers’ Research. Archived February 21, 2026. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

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Background

Ties to Leonard Leo