Case #256-2026: Administrative Closure – Melaleuca, Inc.
BBB NATIONAL PROGRAMS
Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council
Case #256-2026: Administrative Closure – Melaleuca, Inc.
Company Description
Melaleuca, Inc. (“Melaleuca” or the “Company”) is a U.S.-based direct-to consumer company founded in 1985 and headquartered in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Company develops and markets a broad range of wellness and consumer products, including nutritional supplements, personal care items, and household cleaning products. Melaleuca works with independent contractors who refer customers to Melaleuca. Those customers then shop directly with the Company.
Basis of Inquiry
The Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (“DSSRC”), a national advertising self-regulation program administered by BBB National Programs, initiated this inquiry as part of its ongoing, independent monitoring of advertising and promotional claims in the industry marketplace.
This inquiry concerns earnings claims disseminated on social media (i.e., Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn) by Melaleuca independent contractors. DSSRC was concerned that certain claims conveyed messages suggesting that participants in the Melaleuca business opportunity could achieve significant or substantial income, including representations implying financial independence, full-time income, or other atypical earnings outcomes. DSSRC determined that such claims may communicate unsupported expectations regarding the level of income that a typical participant can generally expect to earn through the Melaleuca business opportunity.
The representative claims set forth below formed the basis of this inquiry:
Earning Claims:
- “Depending on your goals and objectives you will earn part-time to full-time income.”
- “At the Wellness Company we offer flexible hours, work from home, commissions and bonuses. Plus you can earn free gifts and trips. To find out more, contact me and I will show you how you can grow a business and become financially free.” (November 2025)
- Image with copy stating “What could an extra $500 do for you this month?” “I can show you how easy it is to make at least $500…” (September 2025)
- “We show them how to use the products and how they can make additional part or full time income.”
- “I’m talking a lucrative full time income for me and my husband both! All from our phone!” (November 2025)
- “real financial freedom” (September 2025)
- “Ready to level up your hustle? Secure the Bag Today is your gateway to financial freedom #FInancialFreedom” (October 2025)
- “This past weekend we saw families in our organization open up a months check that equate to an annual wage. We saw families in our organization who have obtained true financial freedom with a business that will take care of them for a lifetime. We saw a family in our organization celebrate paying off their mortgage and being completely debt free and other families celebrate paying off credit cards and their cars!” (May 2025)
- Financial Freedom • Healthy House • Energy
Imagine a life where your home is safer, your body is energized, and your finances give you freedom. 
That’s what I’ve found with Melaleuca—products that make my home healthier, boost my energy naturally, and an opportunity that helps create lasting financial freedom.” (September 2025) - “Yesterday we watched these families burn their mortgages in celebration of becoming financially free!!!
” Photo of company event with backdrop stating “TOTAL FINANCIAL FREEDOM” (May 2025)
Company Position
Melaleuca explained that it is committed to ensuring that its independent contractors comply with applicable laws, regulations, and Company policies when promoting the Melaleuca business opportunity.
Upon receipt of DSSRC’s inquiry, Melaleuca reported that it promptly reviewed each of the posts at issue and undertook efforts to contact the individuals responsible for the claims where appropriate and feasible. The Company further explained that it used the inquiry as an opportunity to evaluate and strengthen its internal monitoring, escalation, and compliance processes.
Melaleuca advised DSSRC that it was successful in securing the removal of six of the 10 posts following outreach to the responsible independent contractors. With respect to the four posts that remain publicly accessible, the Company described taking additional steps, including placing accounts on hold, issuing compliance correspondence, and escalating enforcement actions consistent with its policies.
With respect to certain posts that remained publicly accessible, the Company explained that it encountered circumstances beyond its direct influence. For example, Melaleuca described efforts to assist an elderly independent contractor in updating her LinkedIn profile; however, despite significant outreach and real-time guidance, the content remained unchanged due to apparent technical limitations rather than a lack of cooperation. The Company also identified a post associated with a deceased individual, noting that no authorized party had access to the account to remove the content. In both instances, Melaleuca submitted removal requests to LinkedIn, which declined to take action.
Melaleuca further stated that, in other cases, it made repeated attempts to contact certain individuals who were unresponsive. The Company reported that it placed those accounts on hold, issued formal communications, and indicated that it would address the claims if and when contact was reestablished. Additionally, where the Company was unable to identify or locate the account holder or if the individual who posted the content was unresponsive, it confirmed that it reported the content directly to the platform for review, including submitting trademark-based complaints to Instagram.
The Company also addressed the use of the term “financial freedom” in certain posts, explaining that within the Melaleuca program the phrase is intended to refer to concepts such as reducing debt, budgeting, and achieving overall financial wellness, rather than conveying a message of substantial or atypical income or a lavish lifestyle. Nevertheless, Melaleuca acknowledged that the term may be misinterpreted by consumers and indicated that it would address such usage with independent contractors in future communications.
In conclusion, Melaleuca reiterated its support for DSSRC’s self-regulatory efforts and its commitment to continued cooperation.
Administratively Closed Resolution
As a result of Melaleuca’s compliance and enforcement efforts, the Company secured the removal of six of the 10 social media posts identified in this inquiry. DSSRC determined that the actions taken by the Company to address the remaining four posts were necessary and appropriate and demonstrated a bona fide, good-faith effort to bring the claims into compliance or have them removed by the social media platform.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidance provides that earnings claims should accurately represent the income that participants can typically expect to earn through participation in a direct selling business opportunity. The FTC has warned that representations highlighting the potential for significant earnings are frequently not indicative of typical results and, if left unqualified, may mislead consumers. The guidance further states that claims regarding atypical income should include clear and conspicuous disclosure of earnings by the typical participants in the company’s business opportunity that is supported by reliable data. Without this level of support and disclosure, such representations may convey a misleading impression of the business opportunity.
Consistent with these principles, DSSRC’s Guidance on Earnings Claims for the Direct Selling Industry cautions against using language or imagery that conveys earnings levels exceeding what a typical participant can reasonably expect to achieve. DSSRC has specifically noted that the phrase “financial freedom” poses a heightened risk of being misunderstood by consumers.1 Prior DSSRC decisions have also determined that aspirational claims, when not accompanied by appropriate context or qualifying information, may be interpreted as conveying promises of significant or transformative income.2
With respect to the four posts that remain publicly accessible, Melaleuca informed DSSRC that it undertook multiple efforts to contact the independent contractors responsible for disseminating the claims and requested that the posts be removed or modified. In addition, the Company confirmed with DSSRC that it reported the posts to the respective social media platforms and advised them of the unauthorized nature of the claims. DSSRC further noted that, with respect to two Facebook posts that remain accessible, the Company suspended the accounts of the individuals responsible pending their response to the Company’s compliance outreach.
DSSRC recognized that, consistent with prior self-regulatory decisions, there are circumstances where a company may have limited or no practical ability to remove content, including where posts are disseminated by inactive, unresponsive, or otherwise unreachable independent contractors, or where third-party platforms decline to act on removal requests. In such instances, DSSRC evaluates whether the company has demonstrated that it made genuine, good-faith efforts to address the claims, including repeated outreach, enforcement actions, and attempts to engage the platform hosting the content. Here, DSSRC determined that Melaleuca’s actions met this standard.
Based on the Company’s demonstrated good-faith efforts to remove or remediate the identified claims, and its implementation of appropriate enforcement and escalation measures, DSSRC determined that administrative closure of this inquiry was warranted.
Conclusion
DSSRC recognized the Company’s timely and good-faith actions to reconcile the earnings claims at issue, including the removal of most of the posts at issue, and the bona fide and remedial measures taken to address the remaining content. In light of these efforts and the Company’s commitment to ongoing compliance, DSSRC concluded that administrative closure of the inquiry was appropriate.
Company Statement
“At Melaleuca, we are firmly committed to honesty, integrity, and transparency in how we and others present our business opportunity. We remain vigilant in upholding these standards and monitoring and addressing claims from independent contractors that fall short of these expectations.”
(Case #255, closed on 4/2/26)
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[1] See Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council, Guidance on Earnings Claims for the Direct Selling Industry, Section 6(A).
[2] See DSSRC Case #199-2025: LifeWave, Inc.