According to the Washington-based Direct Selling Association’s most recent data, 18.6 million people were involved in the direct selling of $34.9 billion in products in 2017, whether they did so part time, full time, or signed up with companies to receive a discount on their favorite products. Illinois was among the top five states for direct sales, according to the group, with more than 800,000 people involved and $1.5 billion in sales. And across the U.S., 73.5 percent of direct sellers were women, said Joseph Mariano, the association’s president and chief executive officer.