Direct Selling Association

The Direct Selling Association (DSA) is a trade association in the United States that represents direct selling companies, primarily those that use multi-level marketing compensation plans. On behalf of its members' companies, the DSA engages in public relations and lobbying efforts against regulation of the multi-level marketing industry, and it funds political candidates through a political action committee. History in the US The American DSA, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the national trade association of a group of firms that manufacture and distribute goods and services sold directly to consumers typically through social selling that includes a compensation model called multi-level marketing. Founded in Binghamton, New York in 1910 as a trade group for door-to-door salesmen, the association was originally called the Agents Credit Association. It was renamed the National Association of Agency Companies (NAAC) in 1914, and briefly renamed the National Association of Agency and Mail Order Companies in 1917, before returning to the NAAC in 1920. It became the Direct Selling Association in 1968. As of 1970, less than 5% of the DSA's members were multi-level marketing companies. By 2018, the DSA's membership had grown to include nearly 130 companies, more than 90% of which were multi-level marketing companies. The DSA belongs to the National Retail Federation and its member companies pledge to abide by the DSA code of ethics.