As of June 2025, our voluntary Sustainability Product Standards criteria have been updated. The 2025 criteria update supports our sustainability goals by going beyond compliance, responding to regulators and consumers who are driving the fashion industry toward a more sustainable, equitable, and circular supply chain. Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando: Full Guide Last updated: July 2025 Introduction About this guide This guide outlines Zalando’s mandatory and optional product standard requirements. It provides detailed information on the specific data required, how to share it with Zalando, and what gets displayed to customers on Zalando if certain requirements are met. By joining forces with our partners, we aim to increase transparency and support our shared customers in making more informed purchasing decisions. Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 This icon represents a clickable link This icon indicates changes in the section Contents 3 | Product data requirements (Levels 1&2) ● How to read our data requirement tables ● Data requirements tables by attribute group ● Our data mapping guide Introduction 2 | Product standards requirements ● Our product standards requirements ● How to apply our product standards requirements ● Accepted certifications, trademarks and licensed materials ● Full Product Claims ● Certification levels 4 | How to share required product data with Zalando ● Basics: Product data sharing ● Data sharing methods (by partnership model) ● Product data review process 1 | Get to know: Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando ● Our approach to product sustainability ● Introducing Product Standards ● Our updated customer experience ● Our updated attribute groups ● Upcoming changes in 2025 5 | Additional guidance ● Mandatory sustainability & ethical responsibility requirements ● Product claim calculation methods (& examples) ● Third Party certifications: how to find required data ● Additional criteria for certifications, trademarks and licensed materials ● Anti-greenwashing marketing guidelines Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Content calculation methods by type of product claim Most common topics: direct links Introduction Accepted certifications, trademarks and licensed materials Product data required by certificate, trademark or license Product category types eligible for component-based claims Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Data-sharing methods by partnership model Data mapping guidance (operational) Section 1 | Get to know: Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando This section outlines our approach to sustainability product standards and shows what sustainability-related information is displayed to Zalando customers. Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando Our approach to product sustainability Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 54% of Zalando customers bought an item with a sustainability-related attribute 2,3 50% of customers don’t understand what ‘sustainability’ means in a fashion context 4 50% of green claims lack evidence¹. 1. Zalando Anti-greenwashing guidance, 2023 2. Sustainability Progress Report 2022 3. ‘Sustainable fashion’ defined here: as at least one product carrying a sustainability icon 4. Attitude-Behaviour Gap Report 2021 We see an urgent need to support our customers in making more informed decisions. Our approach Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando With our approach, we want to ... Support our customers to make informed decisions There is a need for standardized, clear and specific product information. Enable industry collaboration We can’t drive change alone and need to join forces to make sustainability-related information easier to understand. Respond to the legislative landscape EU-wide legislation underlines the need for more integrity and accuracy. Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 1 Our approach Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando Introducing our framework ‘Product standards’ We want to ensure our customers can access additional product attributes based on third-party standards. We know that no product is fully sustainable. As such, we deliberately do not use these ‘Product standards’ in direct relation to the umbrella term "sustainability" in our customer experience. Since product standards are important to many customers, we want to make them visible to them. We have updated the way the sustainability-related information is shown to customers, and have replaced the formerly-known icons with attribute groups, which put an emphasis on third-party credentials. Customers can filter by product standard and find an overview of relevant information on these product standards on the Product Details Page (PDP). We have summarised additional information about these standards on a new "About Product Standards" page, accessible to customers via the PDP. Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 1 Our customer experience is aligned with our ambition to provide our customers with the highest possible level of transparency and information so that they can make a well informed purchasing decision. Our approach Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando Presenting our customer experience Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Glanceable preview and detailed Information on the Product Detail Page ‘Product standard’ Filter Catalogue without icons Previously available interactive icons have been be removed from the Product Card as of April 2024 The ‘Product standard’ filter enables our customers to search through the catalog for products with third party standards. The search is limited to one criterion to reduce misconception that a given product may hold more than one sustainability-related standard. The search will also only return full product claims which have a minimum of 30% certified materials. 1 2 3 4 Customers can use more detailed information in the “Product standard” accordion to inform their choices. As of April 2024, the PDP will now also feature our updated attribute groups The top of the Product Detail Page gives customers a preview of an item’s product standard Sustainability-related product information is highlighted to customers via the ‘Product standard’ filter and more detailed information is available on the Product Detail Page (PDP). Our approach Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando Organic material Certifications supporting soil health and biodiversity through organic farming Recycled material Standards using reclaimed material that might otherwise end up as waste. Forest-based material Certifications supporting the conservation and restoration of forests. Cotton (farming standard) Supporting environmental management and more traceable systems. Organic in-transition material Certified material produced by farmers changing to organic practices. Designed for circularity Full lifecycle design that uses recycled or renewable materials, and prioritises durability and recyclability. Customers can filter the catalog using these product standards and find further information about them on the Product Detail Page. Our product standards: Fashion, footwear & accessories Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Certified down Standards supporting animal welfare and farming practices. Certified wool Standards supporting animal welfare and land management. Wood-based material Regenerated cellulose material made in a way that minimises resource use. Leather (production standard) Supporting environmental practices across production. Regeneratively grown material Farming standards supporting ecosystems and soil health. bluesign® approved material Production standard for limited chemical use, environmental management, health, and safety. Leather alternative Plant-based leather or synthetic leather manufactured without chemical solvents. Bio-based material Renewable materials like corn, algae, orange peels, coffee grounds or fish skin. Our approach Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando Forest-based material Certifications supporting the conservation and restoration of forests. Natural ingredients Certified ingredients from plants, animals, micro-organisms or minerals. Refillable Packaging that can be used again to decrease waste. Recycled packaging Product packaging (like bottles, bags or containers) made from reclaimed materials. Certifications supporting soil health and biodiversity through organic farming. Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Our product standards: Beauty & personal care Our approach Customers can filter the catalog using these product standards and find further information about them on the Product Detail Page. Organic ingredients Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando 1 Changes applied in Q2 2025 Changes to our accepted certifications for Product Standards The accepted certifications for product standards in our framework have been revised. Details can be found in the next slides. Raising the product attribute minimum % thresholds The required minimum percentage of certified material have been raised for many attributes in Fashion. Details can be found in the next slides. Transition to full product claims All product-sustainability related attributes are based on full product (weight-based) calculations from June 2025. Component-based claims have been phased out for footwear, accessories & outerwear. Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando 2 3 Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 To ensure compliance of the product sustainability-related information that we showcase on our platform, and to support our corporate sustainability ambitions, we have updated our product standards framework in June 2025. Changes applied in 2025 Accepted product standards - Fashion, Footwear & Accessories ● GOTS Organic (Global Organic Textile Standard) ● GOTS Made with Organic (Global Organic Textile Standard) ● OCS 100 (Organic Content Standard) ● OCS Blended (Organic Content Standard) ● Cotton Made in Africa - Organic (Hard Identity Preservation Model ONLY) (to be added) Organic in-transition material ● Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) Organic In conversion ● OCS Organic In-Conversion (Organic Content Standard) Organic material Recycled material ● Regenerative Organic Certified® ● Land to Market (Savory Institute, Regenerative) ● RegenAgri® ● Good Earth Cotton® (to be added) Regenerativ ely grown material ● Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) ● Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) ● Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS) ● The Good Cashmere Standard® (GCS) ● ZQ Merino Wool ● ZQRX Merino Wool ● NATIVA™ ● Sustainable Fibre Alliance (SFA) Cashmere (to be added) Certified Wool ● BASF E3 ● Supreme Green Cotton® (to be removed) ● The REEL Cotton Program ● Fairtrade Cotton ● Leather Working Group ● Chrome-free tanned leather Leather (production standard) Cotton (farming standard) Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando Changes applied in 2025 ● Infinna™ (Infinited Fiber Company) ● Circulose® (Renewcell) ● RCotton (Recover™) ● RColorBlend (Recover™) ● NuCycl™ (Evrnu) ● cycora® (Ambercycle) ● ECONYL® (Aquafil) ● SEAQUAL® YARN ● Other Remanufacturing/ Recycling Process (to be removed) ● CYCLO® Recycled Fibres (to be added) ● CIRC® Lyocell (to be added) ● CIRC® Polyester (to be added) ● GRS (Global Recycled Standard) ● RCS 100 (Recycled Claim Standard) ● RCS Blended (Recycled Claim Standard) ● Recycled Content Certification (SCS Global Services) ● REPREVE® (Unifi) ● Polylana® ● Texloop™ ● REFIBRA™ (Lenzing) ● ATKO Leather 1 Key Green = standards added from Q2 2025 Red = standards removed from Q2 2025 ● Responsible Down Standard (RDS) ● Downpass ● LENZING™ ECOVERO™ (LENZING™ Viscose) ● TENCEL™ Modal (LENZING™ Modal) ● TENCEL™ Lyocell (LENZING™ Lyocell) ● Livaeco (Birla Cellulose) ● Liva Reviva (Birla Cellulose) ● Birla Spunshades (Birla Cellulose) ● Birla Modal ● Birla Excel ● Birla Viscose ● Lyocell (to be removed) ● Spinnova ● Eastman Naia ● HEIQ AeoniQ ™ (to be added) Certified down Wood- based material Forest- based material ● Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) ● Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) ● Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) ● bluesign® approved material Bio-based material ● Agraloop™ ● U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased ● Sorona® ● Bloom™ (to be added) ● BioCir ® (to be added) ● Cradle to Cradle Certified® Bronze ● Cradle to Cradle Certified® Silver ● Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold ● Cradle to Cradle Certified® Platinum ● Circular Design Criteria by circular.fashion (to be added) ● Cradle to Cradle Certified® Circularity Bronze (to be added) ● Cradle to Cradle Certified® Circularity Silver (to be added) ● Cradle to Cradle Certified® Circularity Gold (to be added) ● Cradle to Cradle Certified® Circularity Platinum (to be added) Designed for circularity Leather alternative ● AppleSkin™ Hyphalite™ TC ● MIRUM® ● Mylo™ Unleather ● Oleatex® ● Piñatex® ● Water-Based Polyurethane Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando Changes applied in 2025 Accepted product standards - Fashion, Footwear & Accessories 1 Key Green = standards added from Q2 2025 Red = standards removed from Q2 2025 bluesign® approved material ● Beauty Without Bunnies (PETA)* ● Cruelty Free International* Organic ingredients ● ECOCERT (COSMOS ORGANIC) (to be removed) ● ICEA (Organic) (to be removed) ● NATRUE (Organic) (to be removed) ● Soil Association (Organic) (to be removed) ● COSMOS ORGANIC ● USDA (Organic) ● Natural Cosmetics Standard (Organic) Cruelty free* Recycled packaging ● Global Recycled Standard (GRS) ● RCS 100 (Recycled Claim Standard) ● RCS Blended (Recycled Claim Standard) ● Other Remanufacturing/ Recycling Processes (to be removed) ● COSMOS NATURAL ● BDIH (Natural) (to be removed) ● ICEA (Natural) (to be removed) ● Natural Cosmetics Standard (Natural) ● NATRUE (Natural) Natural ingredients Forest- based material ● Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) ● Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) ● Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) ● Brand declaration of refillable packaging Refillable Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando Changes applied in 2025 Key Green = standards added from Q2 2025 Red = standards removed from Q2 2025 Accepted product standards - Beauty & Personal care 1 *Cruelty Free attribute claims will be removed from the sustainability Product Standards customer experience, however these claims will still be showcased through the Beauty product customer experience, expected to launch in Q4 2025. Product detail page (PDP): Full product claim will be highlighted to the customer (e.g. Made with: XX%) Full product claims From June 2025, Zalando only showcases sustainability-related attribute claims that refer to the full product, rather than single component of a product (e.g. the outsole of a shoe or the outer material of a jacket). With this change we aim to: 1. Streamline the data that we ask our partners for 2. Avoid unintentionally misleading customers with the sustainability-related information that we showcase 3. Encourage the use of preferred materials at a larger scale, to support environmental impact reductions Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando Changes applied in 2025 Transition to full product claims 2 Attribute Textile Products - full product claims Multi-Component Products* - full product claims Previous Level 1 Claims min. % NEW Level 1 claims min. % from June 25’ Previous Level 1 Claims min. % NEW Level 1 Claims min. % from June 25’ Organic Material 50% No change 20% No change Organic In-transition material 50% No change 20% Recycled Material ** 30% No change 20% Biobased Material 20% 50% 20% Leather Alternative (Mylo, Pinatex, etc) 20% 50% 20% Leather Alternative (Water-based PU) 50% No change 20% Regeneratively-grown Material 20% 50% 20% Certified Wool 5% 30% 20% Certified Down 5% N/A 20% Cotton (Farming Standard) 50% No change 20% Forest-based Material 50% No change 20% Wood-based Material 50% No change 20% bluesign approved Material 50% No change 20% Leather (production standard) 50% No change 20% Certified forest-based Material 50% No change 20% Designed for circularity N/A N/A N/A N/A * Multi-Compon ent products applicable for min. 20% full product claims are Footwear, Outerwear & Accessories ** Recycled cotton will remain at min. 20% (full product claims), all other recycled materials min. 30% Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando Upcoming changes in 2025 Min. percentage requirements 3 Section 2 | Our sustainability-related product standards requirements This section outlines: ● Zalando and third-party product requirements ● What is displayed to the customer when the requirements are met ● How to apply the requirements to your product ● Type of product claim that meet the requirements ● Accepted certifications, trademarks and licensed materials ● Certification levels required to meet the requirements Sustainability Product Standards at Zalando All products must meet our mandatory sustainability and ethical responsibility requirements during the onboarding process. This is not associated with the sustainability-related information shown to customer. To find out more go to our additional guidance section. Level 1: Zalando requirements → Required for showing information Level 2: Third-party requirements → Required for showing some additional logos & information Reminder: Product Standard requirements Level 1 & 2 requirements Sustainability-related product standard requirements To be able to show sustainability-related information on the product, specific optional requirements must be met (e.g. certifications and/or percentage of certified materials). Both levels allow you to show information. However, depending on which level your product is eligible for, additional logos and information will be shown to customers. To meet these requirements, complete and valid product data must be shared with us. Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Mandatory sustainability & ethical responsibility requirements Name of the certification, trademark or licensed-material associated with your product Percentage (%) of certified, licensed, trademarked material in the product or component Type of product claim associated with the certification, trademark or licensed-material used in the article (e.g. the Full Product or a specific component) Certification level when selecting a Third Party certification, trademark or license (representing the point in the supply chain which holds the final certification) Certification number and testing institute (only required when both the product and the brand are certified to the given standard) Name of the certification, trademark or licensed-material associated with your product Percentage (%) of certified, licensed, trademarked material in the product or component Type of product claim associated with the certification, trademark or licensed-material used in the article (e.g. the Full Product or a specific component) Certification level when selecting a Third Party certification (representing the point in the supply chain which holds the final scope certification) Section 1 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Level 1 vs level 2 requirements: key differences 1/2 Product Standard requirements Level 1 & 2 requirements Section 2 Level 1 Level 2 What data is required to be eligible?