Keeping compliance habits up to code is essential to the long-term health of any business. It consists of both do’s and don’ts, and our dedicated team has put together a helpful training series around the most commonly seen slip-ups in network marketing, so you can avoid shooting yourself—and others—in the foot.

The Two Sides to Compliance

In the wellness industry, direct selling faces compliance challenges across its widespread networks revolving primarily around these two areas:

  • The products being sold
  • The income opportunity these products uphold

Part 1 of the series focuses on the first area:

The Products Being Sold
To get a product to market like the ones ASEA has patented involves rigorous research and testing to meet scientific and safety standards.1 That’s why you’ll find certifications on our product packaging from independent labs such as BioAgilytix and Dermatest.

Since ASEA products are compliant in terms of quality, safety, and efficacy, today’s product-related compliance challenges are centered on the way we speak about the products—namely, the benefit claims we can and cannot legally and ethically make when we share, advertise, and sell them.

Compliance in Product Claims
ASEA products, where indicated on packaging, are built on the breakthrough development of a stable, consumable source of active redox signaling molecules. The resulting benefits of this advancement are still not fully known, but ongoing studies continue to yield promising results.

This foundational breakthrough fuels the ASEA opportunity for our global network of associates. It’s something we get excited about, and it’s something we can talk about… we simply must take care to only promote the benefits that valid research has substantiated thus far—and that can be hard if you’ve experienced a benefit in your life that has not yet been clinically studied!2

Follow Our Lead
The good news for you is that you’re not on your own in gathering the latest studies or navigating the local regulations of your state and national government when making claims. The ASEA Compliance Team is continually putting together resources and measures to provide ready access to materials and messaging that meet regulatory standards.

To ensure the research materials and product claims you use meet ethical standards and regulatory guidelines, here’s what you need to remember:

  1. ASEA products are not classified as drugs or medicinal products. Rather their classifications range from foods to dietary supplements to skin care products. Under these classifications, our products should never be referred to (expressly or implicitly) as a medication, treatment, or cure for any diagnosable condition. Doing so would be considered misleading and could imply regulatory approval where there is none.3
  2. Associates may use only company-licensed websites to promote ASEA products and business opportunities.
  3. Associates must obtain written approval from the company before initiating any sponsored links on Internet search engines to direct Internet traffic to a company-licensed website.
  4. Sales Tools must be approved by corporate before they can be used to market ASEA’s products or opportunity.
  5. When using before-and-after photos, make sure you know the person in the photo and have permission to use the photo. The photo should not feature any wounds, rashes, bruises, or other injuries, since skin care claims are limited to a product’s effect on appearance and not on any effect to the structure or function of the skin. Certain countries don’t allow these types of photos at all.
  6. ASEA’s brand and product lines are constantly evolving as new research is conducted. This means older videos may contain outdated material. All of ASEA’s approved and current videos are available on our region-specific YouTube channels.
  7. Finally, because regulatory guidelines vary across the different governing bodies of different countries and continents, it’s important that you don’t promote products or product-related content outside of the markets for which the materials have been approved.

By keeping with the above guidelines, you ensure no unsubstantiated claims about ASEA products are made expressly or implicitly. This sets proper expectations for consumers and associates, which keeps our reputation and opportunity in good standing!

Remember, the best way to ensure you stay compliant is by using the materials provided by corporate, and by reading through the terms and conditions available in your virtual office. When in doubt, reach out to your regional sales head or ASEA’s Associate Education & Conduct department for assistance.

FOOTNOTES

  1. From FDA.gov: The manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements are responsible for making sure their products are safe before they go to market. . . . Manufacturers are required to produce dietary supplements in a quality manner and ensure that they do not contain contaminants or impurities
  2. From FTC.gov: The FTC’s standard for evaluating substantiation is sufficiently flexible to ensure that consumers have access to information about emerging areas of science. At the same time, it is sufficiently rigorous to ensure that consumers can have confidence in the accuracy of information presented in advertising.
  3. From FDA.gov: Unlike drugs, supplements are not intended to treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure diseases. That means supplements should not make claims, such as “reduces pain” or “treats heart disease.” Claims like these can only legitimately be made for drugs.