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Should Our Industry Take A Role In Protecting Consumers?

Posted by admin
November 5, 2019

What should the affiliate marketing industry be doing to protect consumers?

Policing FDA non approved products via affiliate marketing, what should our industry be doing to better protect consumers? Or should we even concern ourselves?

Selling online has become cheaper and easier in recent years and more so if you add drop shipping ecommerce stores into the mix and the evolution of “the market place”. Great news for consumers as it offers more choice and competitive pricing. Great for the affiliate marketing industry and we all win right?

There is mounting evidence within the health/wellness and beauty sector that some products have slipped under the radar of the FDA or loopholes have been used to sell products that are potentially dangerous to consumers. Notable talk show hosts like John Oliver and Samantha Bee have had dedicated spots to raise awareness. “The consumer should do their research” I hear? Yes, they should but we know that’s not always going to be the case, which is why we have, among others, the FDA as consumers first line of defense. In an article by Forbes in May, the listed a number of big brand cosmetic brands still selling lipsticks containing lead. We have also seen a rise in counterfeit cosmetics which can contain mercury and its not just limited to the cosmetics industry. Other harmful products can be sold direct to consumer via Walmart Market Place, Amazon, E-bay and other sales channels.

So who is looking out for the consumer in affiliate marketing?
Well that’s just it, I don’t know, do you?

The affiliate networks would be the first line in defense, right? The networks we work with do have a form of quality control. Example, if an advertiser is selling anti-wrinkle creams and does not fall under “FDA approved”, some are still accepted, providing there is no false or misleading reference to the FDA.
But affiliate network sales folks are not pharmacists, the decision to allow them into the affiliate network is not going to be based on ingredients in their products, rather accessibility will be based on site traffic, conversions, sales and competition and general metrics.

The affiliate? Should we be looking to them to help consumers make the right choice?
Affiliates are business folks and if they have targeted traffic, I believe those who care about consumers purchasing dodgy merchandise would, at best, be problematic as they are not pharmacists either.
There are a number of publishers out there who promote “organic” products, one assumes the products are safe right? St John’s Wort and Kava 100% organic, can cause liver damage and extreme cases death.

Is it my job to protect consumers?
Maybe but I’m not a pharmacist either, I can certainly veto any advertiser that is obviously selling products that can cause harm, but then there are so many products we use on a daily basis that are slowly killing us anyway.

My take away on all of this, it’s not just one person, one organization that should be protecting consumers, I feel we all have a part to play in protecting each other. Not be too quick in accepting advertisers onto our networks, not be too quick to join affiliate programs without looking more closely at the products. Who knows…. If we all pull together on this, we may even save some lives.

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