In her June 13, 2026, Washington Post “Color of Money” column, personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary chronicled the devastating impact of a fraudulent scheme that left thousands of participants facing significant financial losses.
Her reporting raises an important question: If consumer protection is a shared priority for regulators, journalists, consumer advocates and businesses alike, what role should industries themselves play in protecting consumers?
For the direct selling channel, the answer begins with a simple recognition: consumer protection and entrepreneurship advance together.
Consumers benefit when they receive accurate information. They benefit when claims are truthful, expectations are realistic and deceptive practices are challenged. Businesses benefit from those same conditions. Trust and transparency are not obstacles to entrepreneurship. They help create the conditions that allow people to build businesses of their own.
That understanding led the direct selling channel to support the creation of the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC), an independent program administered by BBB National Programs.
DSSRC monitors earnings and product claims made throughout the direct selling marketplace. It reviews claims made by companies and individual salesforce members, publishes its findings and works with participants to address unsupported representations. Its decisions are publicly available, creating transparency and accountability throughout the process.
DSSRC was created because the industry recognized that consumer protection cannot be viewed solely as a regulatory responsibility. Consumers are best served when businesses take responsibility for the claims made in the marketplace and invest in systems that promote accountability.
That commitment extends beyond DSSRC through company compliance programs, executive and distributor education and the Direct Selling Association’s Code of Ethics, all designed to promote truthful communications and informed decision-making.
Singletary’s column focused on the consequences of fraud. She was right to do so. Consumers deserve protection from deceptive practices, and those who engage in fraud should be held accountable.
The direct selling channel agrees.
DSSRC exists because the direct selling channel recognizes that consumer confidence and entrepreneurial opportunity depend on one another. The challenge for policymakers is not choosing between consumer protection and entrepreneurship but rather advancing both at the same time.
Independent oversight, industry accountability and effective enforcement each have a role to play. That is the story behind DSSRC, an example of how the direct selling channel has chosen to invest in consumer protection because consumer protection and entrepreneurship are strongest when they advance together.
