Young Living has been a hot topic in the news lately. The company’s essential oils are said to have therapeutic benefits, including the ability to reduce depression and improve sleep. To receive those benefits, they must contain the highest naturally-occurring blend of constituents. However, a recent lawsuit alleges that Young Living fails to deliver on this promise. Here’s why. In this article, we’ll take a look at what is known about the company’s products, distributors, and founder.
Young Living’s marketing tactics
The lawsuit claims that Young Living misrepresents its essential oils and charges an exorbitant price for them. This is particularly troubling because the company labels its essential oil bottles prominently, but it fails to include this information on its public web page. Despite this, Young Living can recruit thousands of independent distributors to sell its products and guarantee that every bottle is therapeutic-grade.
Its products
A new lawsuit against Young Living has come to light, claiming that the company misrepresented the benefits of its products. Young Living is fighting back with a team of compliance experts and the help of a third-party company. A third-party company works with the compliance team to review members’ social media histories and investigate inappropriate claims made by Young Living members. The compliance team’s efforts have been credited with helping Young Living to avoid a lawsuit.
Its distributors
One of the key reasons why Young Living and its distributors were sued in 2017 is their recruitment practices. Despite the company’s commitment to new member recruitment, the Young Living essential oils business is essentially a pyramid scheme. The business model guarantees new members lose money and recruits from a shrinking pool of candidates. It also offers no real financial compensation, with members earning an average of only $1 a month in sales commissions. The lawsuit alleges that Young Living misled customers and the general public with its advertising tactics.
Its founder
This spring, a lawsuit was filed against Young Living’s founder, Mary O’Shaughnessy. She alleges that the company engaged in racketeering, wire and mail fraud, and conspiracy. She also requests that the court approve a class action suit, in which similarly situated individuals can join the case. However, she was denied this request by Judge Hightower because she signed a binding arbitration agreement. Stevens has yet to return a request for comment.
Its members
The recent class action against Young Living, the company behind the essential oils and health products, is the latest lawsuit to target the company. Ex-member Julie O’Shaughnessy filed suit in federal court in Texas to seek damages and relief under RICO. While Young Living initially attempted to enter arbitration, the Texas court rejected the proposal. Members of the Young Living business claim that the products they sell are effective against cancer-causing bacteria like Covid19. The company, however, claims that the members were not authorized to speak for the company. In addition, the members claim that Young Living benefitted from sales of its products and the recruitment of new members.
Its claims of therapeutic-grade oils
While the official story of Young Living’s success is filled with miracles – including the company’s founder recovering from a life-threatening logging accident by fasting for 253 days – the real turn-around came with a bureaucratic threat. In 2014, the Food and Drug Administration warned Young Living over its unsupported claims of therapeutic-grade oils for ailments as diverse as Parkinson’s disease, autism, and diabetes.
Its ties to doTERRA
Although its founder, D. Gary Young, has lived in Costa Rica for decades, his multimillion-dollar business has been marred by scandals. Young Living has been investigated for selling products containing lead and a convicted criminal for illegally trafficking rare oils. The FDA has also been involved in a case involving false claims on social media, but his company continues to grow and is currently the world’s largest producer of essential oils, with sales reaching over $2 billion a year.
“…cancer-causing bacteria like Covid19”
If you are quoting their literature, and this is verbatim, then there is nothing illegal about the claims as this sentence is pure nonsense.
Covid-19 is a disease
It is caused by SARS-CoV-2, which is a virus.
SARS-CoV-2 has not been found to cause cancer.
I understand that you are lawyers and not scientists or doctors, but get your shit together as this has been very widely published in mass media for 2 years at the time this article was published.