The Democratic Market verification process is not a form you fill in and forget. It is a real investigation, powered by AI, that can take between 3 and 10 working days depending on the complexity of the product. Here is exactly what happens at each step.
Step 1: Initial application and component tree
The process begins when the seller submits their application through the onboarding form. We don't just ask for the product name and price: we ask for the complete component tree. This means that, for each product, the seller must identify:
- →Every significant material or component (raw materials, manufactured parts, packaging, outer packaging).
- →The country of manufacture of each component — not the country of sale or distribution.
- →The name of the supplier or manufacturer of each component.
- →Any available certifications (ISO, Fairtrade, FSC, GOTS, etc.).
This first step is the most demanding for the seller because it requires genuine knowledge of their supply chain. Many brands know it in broad strokes but haven't documented it at the level of detail we require. That's fine: the form is designed to help you think it through.
Step 2: AI-powered OSINT investigation
Once the component tree is received, our AI agent — built on Anthropic's Claude — launches an OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) investigation to independently verify every declaration. The agent searches:
- →Public certification databases (Fairtrade, FSC, Rainforest Alliance, GOTS, SA8000…)
- →Sustainability reports from the manufacturer and the seller.
- →Publicly available customs records in the EU.
- →News and investigative reports on working conditions at the declared factories.
- →Business and intellectual property registries of the country of origin.
The agent doesn't just check whether the declared country is democratic: it also verifies that the declared supplier exists, operates in that country, and that no public information contradicts the seller's declarations. If something doesn't add up, the agent produces an inconsistency report and returns it to the seller for clarification.
Step 3: Document OCR scanning
For components where OSINT investigation is not sufficient — for example, raw materials from small or local suppliers with no digital presence — we request physical documentation: purchase invoices, certificates of origin, bills of lading, or manufacturer labels.
The seller photographs or scans these documents and uploads them through the secure form. The AI vision system automatically extracts the relevant data: supplier name, country of origin, date, product references. This data is cross-referenced against what was declared in the component tree.
Step 4: Democratic check
With all origins verified, the system checks each ISO country code against the EIU Democracy Index stored in our database (and, for products with an NFT passport, in the smart contract on Ethereum). If any component comes from a country with a score of 6.0 or below, the product cannot be listed.
At this point there are two possible outcomes: direct approval (if all origins exceed the threshold) or return to the seller (if there are components from countries below the threshold, with the option to replace that component with one of democratic origin).
Step 5: Publication and Transparency Shield
Once approved, the product is published with the Transparency Shield visible: a complete breakdown of every component, its country of origin, its EIU score, and the source backing it up. For products with an NFT passport, the data is also recorded immutably on Ethereum.
The Transparency Shield carries a verification date. Every January, when the EIU publishes the updated index, we automatically review whether any country has fallen below the threshold and notify affected sellers.
How long does it take and what does it cost?
The full process takes between 3 and 10 working days. Verification is free for the first collection of up to 10 products. For larger catalogues, there is a tiered fee that covers the operational costs of the investigation process.
If you want to start the verification process, you can do so from the 'List here' page. The form guides you step by step and you can save and resume it whenever you like.
