In 1956, Dr. Forest C. Shaklee began developing his natural and environmentally friendly nutrition, personal care, and household products. The Shaklee main office is located in Pleasanton, CA which was built the Shaklee way by using recycled materials and an environmentally friendly structure that helps to decrease the amount of energy used.  Shaklee has gone international now distributing in the US, Mexico, Canada, Japan, and Malaysia. 

Shaklee is active in charity donations with an organization called Shaklee Cares. In 2005, they donated to the Tsunami Relief Funds (distributors and employees pitched in to donate a total of $433,000), The Green Belt Movement ($105,000), Hurricane Katrina victims ($300,000), and local children’s organization for Christmas funds ($200,000). So far in 2006 Shaklee has donated $600,000 worth of vitamins to Angel Alliance. This is what they have recorded online to have donated. Shaklee also does miscellaneous donations to smaller organizations having fundraisers. They currently are raising funds to help with Katrina victims with over $2.5 million raised so far.

A member of the Direct Selling Association (DSA), Shaklee is 100% committed to their code of ethics and has withheld outstanding citizenship since joining in 1964.  The list of awards received for their “environmental leadership” is endless with over 12 since 2000. 

All Shaklee products are formulated with only natural herbs and nutrients.  There are currently over 45 Shaklee patents and many more pending.  Their product list includes everything needed to improve your health and surround yourself with a healthy, therefore safe, environment.  The types of products offered are; weight management supplements and systems, home care products that are all environmentally friendly with no harsh chemicals added, air and water purification systems, personal care products such as lotions and cleansers, all natural beauty products, and nutritional supplements to help naturally relieve the symptoms of numerous discomforts. Shaklee has put over $250 million a year into research funding for over 83,000 laboratory tests and trials on all of their products.  

If you want to become a member of Shaklee’s distributing team you have to invest in a Distributor Welcome Kit that costs $39.95.  This includes a step by step business guide, a brochure and DVD to introduce you to Shaklee, a resource guide, and special business tools to get started. As a distributor you will also be entitled to basic membership benefits such as; special discounts and offers, 15% off retail prices, and access to MyShaklee.com.  To find out about the compensation plan for a basic distributor you must contact one of their 700,000 active distributors. This should make this relatively easy to find one near your area.

While all business opportunities with Shaklee appear to show potential, there are the unhappy ex-distributors speaking out.  According to them, Shaklee does not offer near the pay off expected after all the costs of running your business.  Fortunately, I have only seen one disgruntled ex-distributor while coming across many pleased active distributors.  In my opinion, this should explain everything.