The World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) describes itself as, “a non-governmental, voluntary organization globally representing the direct selling industry as a federation of national Direct Selling Associations.” Its mission is to support direct selling worldwide.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Mission
WFDSA supports direct selling companies and associations by:
- Developing, promoting, and upholding high global standards for responsible and ethical conduct in direct selling.
- Working with governments, the media, and key individuals to advocate the direct selling industry.
- Providing reliable global direct selling statistics and information.
- Conducting forums for interaction among direct selling executives on key industry issues.
- Providing technical, financial, and management support to its member DSAs.
______________________________________________________________________
Founded in 1978, WFDSA is comprised of more than 58 Direct Selling Associations from around the world and one regional federation. National DSAs affiliated with WFDSA are located in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Lithuania, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela. The one regional federation affiliated with WFDSA is the Federation of European DSAs. The United States Direct Selling Association serves as the Secretariat for the Federation and is based in Washington, D.C.
About WFDSA:
- Works with various industry and external groups to increase awareness and understanding of direct selling.
- Requires each member DSA to develop a national code of ethics to protect consumers and salespeople that includes the minimum standard established in its World Codes of Conduct. This Code is considered an ethical cornerstone in the global direct selling industry.
- Develops relationships with regulators in various markets and conducts government relations/regulatory programs on a national, regional, and global level.
- The Board of Directors includes a representative from each member DSA and meets once a year.
- Provides a Legal Compendium that includes summaries of laws and regulations governing direct selling for over 40 countries. The purpose of the International Guide of Direct Selling Legislation is:
- To help direct selling companies navigate international expansion
- To assist national DSAs in their lobbying activities as national legislators.
- To help national DSAs respect laws of other countries when preparing legislation in their own country.
- Conducts third party research and collects data on the socio-economic impact of direct selling and public attitude towards it. Studies are available for eight of the largest direct selling markets: Brazil, Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, and the U.S. “[These] studies can be extremely useful in helping [DSAs] ... and [their] member companies promote the direct selling industry’s size; scope; and positions with government, media, and other audiences,” says WFDSA.
- Collects and disseminates info on the direct selling industry’s corporate philanthropic efforts to spotlight the industry’s positive impact in the world.
- Is governed by The CEO Council, which consists of the CEOs of the leading multinational direct selling company members. WFDSA periodically sends out a newsletter to these individuals on the state of the Federation and the direct selling industry.
- Conducts regional, national, and global seminars plus other events to train its member DSAs on DSA operation, management, and how to better serve member companies.
- In an effort to foster greater consumer education and protections efforts, WFDSA conducts regional, national, and global seminars that bring together public and private sector consumer protection leaders, government officials, and academia.
- In 1998, launched the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Consumer Education and Protection Initiative (CEPI) to promote consumer education and protection, and responsible business practices among small/medium size enterprises in APEC economies.
- Conducts the World Congress of Direct Selling once every three years, providing a forum where direct selling executives from around the world can confer about industry issues of the day.
- Publishes global statistics on its website, including: international statistic survey, global retail sales, and global sales force.
You can find WFDSA International members by using the search form-Click Here. (For example, Avon.)