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{{Multiple issues|orphan=February 2010|refimprove=September 2007}}
{{Infobox company
{{Infobox company
| company_name = FreeLife International
| company_name = FreeLife International

Revision as of 11:18, 28 April 2010

FreeLife International
Company typePrivate
Founded1995
HeadquartersPhoenix, Arizona
Key people
Ray Faltinsky
Kevin Fournier
ProductsHimalayan Goji Juice
Number of employees
220
Websitewww.FreeLife.com

FreeLife International is a multi-level marketing company established in 1995 by Ray Faltinsky and Kevin Fournier that supplies nutritional supplements. FreeLife is best known for promoting Himalayan Goji Juice, made from goji berries.

History

In 1995, Co-Founders Ray Faltinsky and Kevin Fournier, along with a group of investors including Anson Beard of Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter, launched FreeLife International as a direct sales company due to Ray Faltinsky's prior research on that business model.[1] As FreeLife grew, it was listed in 2000 in Inc. 500's List of Fastest Growing Businesses.[2] FreeLife has since grown to include operations in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Brunei, Canada, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Hong Kong, Macau, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines[3], Puerto Rico, Singapore, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Martin/St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Thailand[4], Trinidad & Tobago, and the United States.

Products

FreeLife’s product line initially consisted of nutritional supplements, weight loss products, shampoo and personal care products. FreeLife has since changed its product lines and now focuses on a juice made from Goji (lycium barbarum) and sold under the product name Himalayan Goji Juice and a newer product named GoChi.[5]

FreeLife operates as an international multi-level marketing company where sale of a consumer products take place person-to-person, away from a fixed retail location, or also known as a direct selling company. These products are marketed to customers by independent salespeople who are paid commissions on their sales and the sales of their downline. The company requires those marketing its products to follow certain guidelines set out by the company.[6]

Freelife International is a member of the Direct Selling Association (DSA).[citation needed]. The DSA is the national trade association of the leading firms that manufacture and distribute goods and services sold directly to consumers.[citation needed]

Anti-cancer claims

FreeLife's former spokesperson, Earl Mindell, has made several unfounded claims about health benefits of the company's brand of goji juice, including that it has anti-cancer and anti-aging properties.[7] Mindell's involvement with FreeLife was subject of a CBC hidden camera investigation in January 2007, questioning the unsupported anti-cancer properties of Himalayan Goji Juice and validity of Mindell's PhD qualification (which was later proved invalid[8][9][10] and removed from Mindell's biography on the FreeLife website).

Claims that Goji juice has a beneficial effect on cancer are supported by evidence of arrest of cancer cells in vitro (i.e. in a dish).[11][12] It is unclear whether such effects occur in vivo (i.e. when consumed). H. Leon Bradlow, the author of a study that Mindell cites as support for this anti-cancer claim, says that his original research does not, in fact, show that goji juice has any anti-cancer properties.[8]

Human pilot studies

FreeLife International has funded and carried out its own research on the effects of its product. This research has, perhaps unsurprisingly, shown positive effects on mood[13] and levels of antioxidants in the blood.[14][15] However, since this research is carried out by the company marketing the product itself, there may be a conflict of interest and other diluting factors, such as experimenter bias and weak experimental design cannot be ruled out as potential explanations for their findings.[16]

Burge et al vs FreeLife

On May 29, 2009, a class action lawsuit was filed against FreeLife International, Inc. in the United States District Court of Arizona. This lawsuit alleges false claims, misrepresentations, false and deceptive advertising and other issues regarding FreeLife’s Himalayan Goji Juice, GoChi, and TaiSlim products. This lawsuit seeks remedies for consumers who have purchased these products in recent years.[17][18]

A settlement agreement was reached on April 28, 2010, where FreeLife will take steps to ensure that its goji products are not marketed as "unheated" or "raw.", as well as made a contribution to an educational organization.[19][20]

See also

References

  1. ^ Thesis on direct sales business model, Ray Faltinsky, 1992
  2. ^ The fastest growing private companies in America, Inc.com, for the year 2000, retrieved March 12, 2008
  3. ^ Asia Pulse. (October 11, 2004) US Juice firm takes a foothold in the Philippines.
  4. ^ Rungfapaisarn, Kwanchai. (September 16, 2006) The Nation Health drink in direct-marketing debut.
  5. ^ Weaver, Clair. (June 17, 2007). "Why goji is more fad than fact". Sunday Telegraph.
  6. ^ The FreeLife Way, FreeLife.com, retrieved March 12, 2008
  7. ^ Oat, Brittany (July 14, 2006). "Goji: Health Elixir or Pricey Juice?". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  8. ^ a b CBC Marketplace exposé, 24 January 2007
  9. ^ Mindell's Ph.D. was conferred in 1985 by Pacific Western University, an unaccredited distance-learning institution. Authoritative databases of accredited US institutions exist at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA database) and United States Department of Education (USDE accreditation database); neither lists Pacific Western University as of February 2007.
  10. ^ "Oregon state department of education". Retrieved 2007-03-21.
  11. ^ Li G, Sepkovic DW, Bradlow HL, Telang NT, Wong GY. (2009). "Lycium barbarum inhibits growth of estrogen receptor positive human breast cancer cells by favorably altering estradiol metabolism". Nutr Canc. 61 (3): 408-414.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Anticancer effect of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides on colon cancer cells involves G0/G1 phase arrest". Medical Oncology. 2010. doi:10.1007/s12032-009-9415-5.
  13. ^ Amagase H, Nance DM (2008). "A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical study of the general effects of a standardized Lycium barbarum (Goji) Juice, GoChi". Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 14 (4): 403–12. doi:10.1089/acm.2008.0004. PMID 18447631. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  14. ^ Amagase H, Sun B, Borek C (2009). "Lycium barbarum (goji) juice improves in vivo antioxidant biomarkers in serum of healthy adults". Nutrition Research. 29 (1): 19–25. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2008.11.005. PMID 19185773. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Harunobu Amagase and Buxiang Sun. "Immunomodulation, General Effects and Safety of a Standardized Lycium barbarum (Goji) Juice, GoChiTM shown in a Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Study". The FASEB Journal. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ Daniells, S (October 8, 2008). "Questions raised over Goji science". NutraIngredients-USA.com. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  17. ^ United States District Court for the District of Arizona (May 29, 2009). "Class action lawsuit against FreeLife International, Inc" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-10-31.
  18. ^ Class-Action Suit Filed against FreeLife and Earl Mindel
  19. ^ http://breathe.org/
  20. ^ http://www.freelifefacts.com/currenttopics_jointstatement.cfm
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