What is Direct Selling?

Introduction
Direct selling is a dynamic, vibrant, rapidly expanding channel of distribution for the marketing of products and services directly to consumers. The purpose of this paper is to describe direct selling and the benefits that it brings to the marketplace.
Founded in 1978, the WFDSA is a non-governmental, voluntary organization representing the direct selling industry globally as a federation of national Direct Selling Associations (DSAs). There are presently over 59 national DSAs represented in its membership, and in 2007 it is estimated that worldwide retail sales by its members accounted for more than US$114 Billion through the activities of more than 62 million independent sales representatives.
The World Federation and its national DSAs have always understood the necessity for ethical conduct in the marketplace and as such the WFDSA has developed a World Codes of Conduct for Direct Selling which all national DSAs have approved and implemented in their national codes. All direct selling companies agree to be bound by these codes as a condition of membership in a national DSA.