Verification Standard

Article 1Purpose

The CollectionEU Register records, for a given brand, where a given production physically takes place. Each verified production receives a public record, a number and a date.

This standard states what we check, how we check it, what we do not check, and what happens when something is wrong. It is public so that any brand can know in advance what is required of it, and any reader can judge what a record is worth.

Article 2What a record attests, and what it does not

A record attests one thing: that on the stated date, on the basis of the stated evidence, the making of the products within the stated scope took place at the stated location.

A record does not attest:

• the origin of materials, fabrics, yarns, components, hardware or packaging
• the place of any step other than the one stated, including weaving, knitting, tanning, dyeing, printing and finishing, unless expressly listed
• working conditions, wages, or social practices at any site
• environmental impact of any kind
• product quality, durability or safety
• compliance with any other standard, scheme or regulation
• the customs origin of the product within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013

A record is a dated statement of fact about a place of making. It is not a certification, not a quality mark, and not a sustainability label.

Article 3Definitions

Making. The operation by which a product is assembled into its finished form. For garments, cutting and sewing. For leather goods and footwear, assembly. For other categories, the operation defined in the record.

Workshop. The legal entity and the physical site where the making takes place.

Brand. The legal entity that markets the product under its own name.

Production. One brand, one workshop, one stated product scope.

Record. The public page bearing a number, describing one or more verified productions of one brand.

Article 4The criterion

A production is verified when the whole of the making step, for the products within the stated scope, takes place at the declared workshop.

There is no percentage and no threshold. Either the making of those products happens there, or it does not.

Where a product's making is split between two workshops, each is verified separately and the record states which operation takes place where.

Article 5Eligibility

Open to any brand that is a legally registered entity in a European country, whose declared workshop is located in a European country, and which is able to provide the evidence in Article 6.

The list of countries in scope is set out in Annex A.

Admission is not discretionary. Terms are identical for every applicant, whether or not the brand holds any paid listing on collectioneu.com.

Article 6Evidence required

1. The brand's registration number and country of registration.
2. The workshop's name, address and registration number.
3. The product scope claimed, by category.
4. Two or three recent production invoices from the workshop to the brand.
5. Where the workshop is to be named publicly, its written consent.

Article 7Procedure

Pre-screening, free. We check the documentary consistency of the file. If the file is not admissible, we say so and nothing is invoiced.

Invoicing. Once the file is admissible, the fee is invoiced. It pays for the examination, never for its outcome.

Interview. A live video call of about fifteen minutes.

Decision. Written, dated, and issued within ten working days of the interview.

Article 8The interview and the capture

The call has two phases, governed by different rules.

The interview. Front camera, with a person on screen. It is not recorded. The verifier completes a written observation sheet during the call. The brand presents itself, the verifier issues two instructions drawn at random by the system at the moment of the call, and asks two factual questions about the file.

The capture. The brand turns the camera towards the workshop and follows the verifier's instructions. This sequence is recorded. Recording begins only after being announced aloud, and stops before the conversation resumes. The interview itself is never recorded.

No person may appear in the captured sequence. If a person appears, the sequence is stopped, the recording is deleted immediately, and the sequence is repeated. The brand is informed of this requirement before the call and is responsible for informing the workshop, which informs the people present.

The brand also captures three photographs during the call, at the verifier's direction. No identifiable faces may appear.

The recording is evidence. It is retained under Article 21 and is never published except under Article 19.

Article 9Documentary cross-checks

Before the interview we verify, at minimum: that the brand exists in its national register; that the workshop exists at the declared address with a consistent activity code; that invoice dates, volumes and addresses are internally consistent; and that the retail price is compatible with making in the declared country.

Article 10Decisions

Three decisions only.

Registered. A record is published.
Pending. Further evidence is required; the file remains open for sixty days.
Refused. No record is published, and the refusal is never published or disclosed to third parties.

Article 11The public record

Every record states: the number; the date of issue, and how long ago that was; the brand and its country of registration; each verified production with its country, city, product scope and date of observation; the scope not covered; the method used; and the SHA-256 hash of the decision report.

A record may also carry a statement by the brand, clearly labelled Declared, which the register has not verified.

Article 12Scope not covered

Every record states, in the same size and position as the verified scope, which of the brand's product categories are not covered.

A brand may never present a record as covering more than it states.

Article 13The mark

Verified brands receive a mark, in a single form, bearing the word PRODUCTION.

It shows every verified production with its country and city, the country in which the brand is registered, the record number, the scope line, the date of issue of the record and the address of the record.

The scope line reads ALL PRODUCTS where the record covers the brand's whole range. Where it covers only part of the range, the line names the categories that are covered. The categories that are not covered are named on the record itself, under Article 12.

The mark is digital. It is not supplied for application to a product, a label or packaging.

Use of the mark is governed by the Mark Licence, which forms part of this standard.

Article 14Date of issue, and refreshing a record

A record does not expire. It states what was observed on a given date, and that statement remains true of that date. Its date of issue is public, shown on the record and on the mark.

A record therefore ages in plain sight. The older it is, the less it says about today, and the reader judges accordingly.

Once a year the brand may refresh its record. A refresh produces a record bearing a new date. A brand is free to ask for it, to wait, or to keep its record as it stands with its original date.

A refresh normally consists of a confirmation questionnaire and a fresh set of documentary cross-checks. A new interview is required where the brand has changed workshop, where new evidence casts doubt on a verified fact, or where the record is drawn in the annual random sample.

Where a brand changes its place of making during the year, a new examination is required for each new workshop, under Article 15.

Article 15Duty to notify

A record states a past fact. Keeping it accurate as to the present is the brand's responsibility, and the brand states as much to its own customers by displaying the mark.

A brand must notify us within thirty days of any change of workshop, any change of the making location, and any cessation of production at a verified site.

Each new workshop then requires its own examination, charged under the service terms. Until that examination is complete, the record continues to state only what was previously observed, and the brand may not present it as covering the new place of making.

Failure to notify is a ground for suspension and withdrawal.

Article 16Suspension and withdrawal

A record is suspended where a duty to notify has been breached, where the mark has been misused, where new evidence casts doubt on a verified fact, or where a renewal is overdue.

A record is withdrawn where a verified fact is established to be false, or where a suspension is not resolved within sixty days.

Suspension and withdrawal are published on the record. Only the status and its date are published. The reason is never published, never disclosed to any third party, and is communicated to the brand alone.

In either case the mark must be removed from all pages and objects within fifteen days.

Article 17Appeal

A brand may contest a decision within thirty days, in writing, to contact@collectioneu.com. We reply within fifteen working days. An appeal gives rise to a complete fresh examination of the file.

Article 18Reports by third parties

Anyone may report an apparent inconsistency in a record, by writing to contact@collectioneu.com. A reasoned report opens a review, and where appropriate an unscheduled interview.

Reports are treated in confidence. The identity of a reporter is never disclosed to the brand concerned.

Article 19Publication of images and video

Recording and publishing are two separate authorisations. A recording made under Article 8 is evidence, and remains private unless this article applies.

Three categories, always distinguished on the record.

The captured sequence. Published only where both the brand and the workshop have given express written consent, each of which may be withdrawn at any time. The published clip is muted, and carries the date and the record number. On withdrawal of either consent, the clip is removed within thirty days.

Photographs observed during verification. Taken by the brand during the interview, at the verifier's direction. Published only at the brand's request, with the date and record number.

Supplied by the brand. Images provided outside the interview, labelled as such. Where the verifier observed the same premises during the interview, the record may state so.

In all cases: no identifiable persons; the workshop's city only, unless the workshop has given express written consent to be named; and the written consent of the workshop before any image or sequence of its premises is published.

Article 20Independence

The register does not sell any of the products it verifies and receives no commission on their sale.

Fees are public, fixed, and identical for every brand, whether or not the brand holds any paid listing on collectioneu.com. They are payable for the examination and never for its outcome. No part of a fee depends on the decision.

Decisions apply the published criteria of this standard. They are not discretionary, and a verified status has no effect on ranking or placement in the directory.

Two mechanisms are open to anyone who doubts a record. Article 18 allows any person to report an inconsistency, and a reasoned report opens a review. Article 11 publishes the hash of the decision report, so that the document behind a record can be produced and checked against what was published.

Article 21Records and retention

Evidence, recordings made under Article 8 and decision reports are retained for five years from the decision, on restricted-access storage.

Published records are retained indefinitely, including their status history, so that a past statement remains checkable.

Article 22Revision

This standard is published in numbered versions. Each record states the version applied. A revision never applies retroactively to a record issued under an earlier version.

Comments on this version are welcome until 31/01/2027, from brands, workshops, retailers and any interested party, at contact@collectioneu.com. Comments received will be published in summary form with the next version.

Article 23Contact

contact@collectioneu.com