Should Our Industry Take A Role In Protecting Consumers?
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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