FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Consumer Group Calls for Boycott of QFC Grocery Card

SEATTLE (June 12, 2002) The "Advantage Card," recently introduced in the Pacific Northwest by Kroger-owned QFC grocery stores, has been condemned by a national group as invasive, expensive and inconvenient.

The group, Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN), has called for a consumer boycott of QFC until the Advantage Card program is discontinued.

The two-tiered pricing system now in place at QFC stores not only discriminates against shoppers who do not wish to have their purchases recorded, but raises average prices across the store. Each purchase using the card is electronically recorded. This data has been used against individuals in lawsuits, divorce settlements, and criminal investigations, and have been used by the FBI for racial profiling.

"It's amazing what you learn about these cards when you look beyond the advertising hype," says the group's founder, Katherine Albrecht. "Industry insiders are even suggesting that supermarkets raise profits by using their card programs to identify and discriminate against low-income or 'undesirable' shoppers. It's time consumers put their foot down and say 'no more'!"

To educate consumers about the disadvantages of QFC's card program, CASPIAN has developed the "Dis-Advantage Card" which local volunteers will distribute at a QFC store in Seattle, Washington this Saturday, June 15th.

Date: Saturday, June 15th 2002
Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Venue: QFC on Capitol Hill, 1401 Broadway Avenue (at Pike), Seattle

CASPIAN is a national grass-roots consumer group formed in 1999 to oppose supermarket loyalty cards. CASPIAN's efforts are directed at educating consumers, discouraging marketing strategies that invade shoppers' privacy, and encouraging privacy-conscious shopping habits. For more information, or to obtain a high-resolution copy of the Dis-Advantage card for reprint purposes, please visit the CASPIAN website at http://www.nocards.org.

NOTE TO MEDIA:

CASPIAN founder Katherine Albrecht will be in Seattle June 13-15 and will be available for media appearances. She can be reached for comment at (603) 465-9093 or in Seattle June 13-15 at (206) 369-6328. Email: kma@nocards.org

CASPIAN
Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering
An information clearinghouse and resource for community and national action

© 1999-2005 Katherine Albrecht. All rights reserved.