Verifying the seller
The programme and its rules for the perfume supply chain: giving buyers a way to choose the seller, not just the product.
First the method, then the seal.
Today it is in its pilot phase, with anonymous purchases and laboratory analysis under our protocols, still in development; retailers apply to the Trusted Seller pilot. The seal, the register and the public page are planned only once the programme is complete, with the publication of its rules of use.
The problem
The consumer has no way to choose
Faced with two online sellers showing the same photograph at the same price, nothing distinguishes the one sourcing from official channels from the one reselling stock of unknown origin. Trust rests on an anonymous review.
The answer
Verify the seller, not the single item
Verifying one product at a time does not scale to retail. Verifying the business does: in the pilot group, through an anonymous purchase and a laboratory analysis; on completion of the programme, through periodic audits and a seal that will attest only the outcome of the checks, as at their date and in the channels verified.
Revocation
An attestation that will be revocable
An attestation means something only if it can be suspended or revoked. Once the programme is complete, the attestation will carry an expiry date, will be renewed through new audits and will be suspended or revoked if the samples fail verification. Suspension and revocation will be as public as the award.
Programme stages
How attestation will work
Five stages, from field verification to the register a consumer will be able to check before buying. The pilot group covers the first two, with protocols still in development; the others will follow on completion of the programme.
- 01
Verification protocols
in the pilot group: anonymous purchase and laboratory analysis, under protocols still in development
- 02
Physical retailers and e-commerce
applications open for the pilot, regardless of channel
- 03
A seal for the business
on completion of the programme: it will attest the retailer, not the single product
- 04
Fingerprint on a blockchain
on completion of the programme: an attestation with an expiry date, whose fingerprint will be recorded on a blockchain
- 05
Public register
on completion of the programme: the consumer will be able to check the retailer before buying
The seal
What it will say, and what it will not
A credible seal states its own limits. Once the programme is complete, the seal will attest the outcome of the checks on anonymous purchases in the channels indicated, not the individual bottle on the shelf.
What it will attest
- One anonymous purchase for each channel indicated, analysed under the laboratory's protocols
- The compliant outcome, as at the date of the analysis
- The expiry date, after which a new verification is required
- The current status in the public register: valid, suspended or revoked
What it will not attest
- The authenticity of every single item sold
- Product quality or performance
- Commercial or warranty terms
- Any representation agreement with the maisons
- Any recognition by public authorities or third-party bodies
Today, during the pilot
The seal does not exist yet
- Rules of use not yet published
- Public register not yet active
Rules of use: only once the programme is complete
Joining the pilot group
The pilot group exists to build the programme on real cases: participating retailers may submit observations on the criteria, which remain for the laboratory to decide. The pilot's terms, fee and rules are on the Trusted Seller page, where you apply.