Article mapping guide

What is article mapping?

Attribute mapping is like building a bridge between your system and ours. 

You’ll match the product data names and values in your system with the corresponding names and values in our system. 

This helps your in-house or integrator system to translate the product data tied to each of your articles and allows us to understand your articles.

In this article, you will find important information about article mapping for the categories Textile, Shoes, Sports, Accessories, Beauty, Toys, and Electronics.

Below you will find the mandatory information that must be provided for each article you wish to onboard. There are general mandatory details for all articles, regardless of product category, as well as specific requirements for each product category.

There are also details that you can include and that Zalando recommends to improve your Product Display Pages (PDP). Furthermore, a summary table of the Zalando Attribute Requirements is also available below. This should give you a quick overview of the attribute requirements.

This information must be provided for every article regardless of the category they belong to.

General model information

• Age group

• Article name

• Brand

• Silhouette

• Size chart

General style information

• Gender

• Main colour

• Supplier colour

• Supplier SKU

• Season

General article information

• Current price

• Currency

• EAN

• Partner SKU

• Size

Images in accordance with the Zalando image guidelines.

To ensure correct colour representation, the main colour and supplier colour must follow clear rules. These help maintain consistency and ensure that the displayed product colour matches customer expectations.

• The supplier colour is the article colour used by the partner and can include non-colour phrases or a combination of a colour and a phrase (e.g. 'Peruvian summer', 'deep depths', 'ice blue', 'Parisian night', 'Ensis green')

• If your supplier colour contains a colour, this colour must match the article images as closely as possible. If the supplier's colour does not meet the guidelines, Zalando will use a standardised colour that comes closest to the colour of the article

Terms not allowed for the supplier colour:

• Colours that violate Ethical Procurement Standards

• Numbers or special characters:

  • Examples: &%2123, 123213, \(0_o)/

  • Exception: ' / ' is allowed (e.g. white/blue/red)

• Capitalised colours

  – Use lowercase only (e.g. "blue" instead of "BLUE")

This attribute allows the customer to filter by colour in the Zalando shop. If the main colour and the colour of the article itself do not match, the article will be rejected.

• The main colour should match the actual article colour as closely as possible

• Different shades of a colour (e.g. blue, light blue, dark blue) count as the same colour for the filter function in the Zalando shop

• "Multicoloured" can only be chosen if the article contains at least three distinct colours

• For sets and multipacks, only one colour can be specified, but this does not have to refer to the first or front article

• This policy is applicable across all categories and age groups.

• It is essential to clearly indicate the presence of any licensed character in either the product description or the product name. Failure to specify the licensed character or to provide proof of the appropriate licensing will result in the rejection of your article.

• Examples of licensed characters include, but are not limited to:

  • Marvel Comics

  • DC Comics

  • Coca Cola

  • Die drei ???

  • Disney

  • Band Tees (e.g. AC/DC, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Metallica ...)

  • Friends

  • Harry Potter

  • Animes (Dragon Ball, Naturo, Hunter x Hunter ...)

  • Nasa

  • Nintendo

  • Paw Patrol

  • Pokémon

  • Star Wars

  • And more

• Polyurethane and Polyethylene: 

  • PU and PE are coating materials and are only allowed to make up ≤99% of a textile’s material of an article available on Zalando

  • It is only allowed to be 100% if the PU and PE are used as coating materials

• Mohair:

  • Mohair articles can only be onboarded when a Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS) certification is provided at brand and product level. Please submit this certification along with the attribute information when submitting the article.

  • The Testing Institute and Certification Number must be provided for every article

• Other material:

  • This material attribute option may only be used if Zalando does not offer material as an option in the attributes

  • For textile articles the option ‘other materials’ can only make up to 15% of the material specification 

    • If the other material specification is >15% then the material must be specified additionally in the Description field (e.g. Other material: 16% Silicon)

• Mandatory: Next to the general mandatory information, there are specific mandatory attributes that must be completed by partners for articles belonging to the respective category.

• Mandatory if applicable:

  • What does ‘mandatory if applicable’ mean? If an article is made of different materials, then each of the materials must be specified. The material composition must be specified in %

  • For example: If a jacket has a lining, then its attributes must be specified in addition to the outer fabric material, even if it is made of the same material

• Optional: In addition there are several optional attributes per category, which should be filled in if possible.

This summary table includes the product categories Textiles, Shoes, Accessories, Jewellery, Beauty, Electronics, Toys.

Further information about the Category Sports are available here.

• Describes the main outermost layer of an article

• Material composition must be specified in %

• Without this material specification, a textile article will not go online

• Lining

• Padding/Filling

• Front or back material

• Top or bottom material

• Insert material

• If an article contains any non-textile parts of animal origin (e.g. feathers, downs, leather, mother-of-pearls/pearls, horn), then you must mark the corresponding attribute with Yes.

• Information about the part of animal origin must be specified in the Description field (e.g. cow leather patch)

• All articles can be onboarded with only one size, textile articles included. Additional provided sizes must be consecutive.

  • e.g. M, L  or 36, 38 

• Following steps are mandatory for all kids articles with cords and/or drawstrings:

  • Cords and drawstrings information must be in accordance with the EU Commission directive 14682 for drawstrings and cords on children’s clothing

  • Is the cord fixed: please answer yes or no; use the Description field for this information

  • If yes, please provide their length in cm

• Collar, neckline, pockets, details, UV-protection, technology, sleeve length, fastening, description, pattern, sustainability (characteristics), care instructions, measurements, occasion, assortment type

• Football club, extras, technology, waistband, sleeve cuffs, collar, fastening, pockets

• Material mapping guidelines for textiles

• EU Commission directive No 1007/2011 on textile fibre names and related labelling and marking of the fibre composition of textile products

Parts of animal origin

• Please refer to our ethical standards when mapping parts of animal origin.

• If an article contains any non-textile parts of animal origin (e.g. feathers, downs, leather, mother-of-pearls/pearls, horn), then it must be stated in the corresponding attribute with Yes.

• Information about the part of animal origin must be specified in the Description field (e.g. material: real pearls)

• For all accessories that consist of 80% or more textile, a material specification in % is mandatory.

• If an accessory has a lining then its material must also be specified in %

• For Switzerland (CH): mandatory measurements in cm: height, length, width

• Outer material composition is mandatory (no % needed)

• Outer fabric material specification in % is mandatory

• If the article has a lining, then this must also be specified in %

• The fastener must be visible in one of the images, available as information in the Description field or selected as an option in the attributes

• Please note: This field only needs to be filled out if your articles are sold on the German market. 

• Circumference in cm is mandatory for all non-elastic or one-size headgear

• CE label image is mandatory

• Mandatory measurements: armband width, case height, diameter

• CE label image is mandatory

• Indication of lens tint is optional for all tinted glasses

• Mandatory measurements: arm length, bridge width, width

• Mandatory measurements: width, length

• For sleeping bags, the CE label image is mandatory

• Mandatory measurements: length, width

• Description, pattern, sustainability, care instructions, occasion, padding type, closure, frame style, UV protection

• Material components, e.g. back material, front material, bottom part material, middle part material

• Description, bead/stone type, fabrics, measurements, finish, closure

For further details please refer to:

• Material mapping guidelines for accessories

• Material mapping guidelines for jewellery

• Ingredients of the Article in INCI Format - International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients

• Description is for the general description of the product in text

• How to use is mandatory for all cosmetic products and has to be translated for each country channel

• Beauty Warnings are mandatory and have to be translated for each country channel

• Volume / Weight indication in ml/g

If a beauty article is made of textile (e.g. washcloths) then a material specification in % is mandatory.

• Coverage, skin type, hair type, sun protection, benefits, finish, consistency, concerns

• CE label image 

• Measurements, e.g. cable length, width, height, length

• Depending on the article, these product details are mandatory: power source, features, technical specifications, extras

• Material, cable length, suitable for (e.g. smartphone, tablet), frequency, weight, items that are included in the delivery, battery life/service life, diameter

• CE label image

• Material specification

  • Material specification must not be in %

    • The Ethical Sourcing Standards (ESS) guidelines specify that Zalando may restrict or prohibit the sale of certain materials, production forms, and prints. These include any type of mohair, exotic or forbidden wood types, and parts from exotic and/or endangered animals. Additionally, animal parts such as leather, fur, and feathers must be byproducts of meat production.

  • Use the Description field if the material is not available in the attribute (e.g. material: concrete) 

• Measurements - at least height, width or circumference must be provided

• If any warnings are applicable, they must be entered in the Description field or as an attribute. The warning notes begin with the word Achtung in German or Warning in English and the respective warning. If no warnings apply, please input No warning notes in the Description field.

• Further materials, further measurements, care instructions

Please note the following guidelines for indicating materials:

The CE label and the article must be visible and recognisable together in one image. Please find further information about CE label requirements here.

• All watches, e.g.

  • Smart watches

  • Pulse watches

• Goalkeeper gloves

• All electronic devices, e.g.

  • Headphones

  • Smart accessories

  • Activity tracker

  • Heart rate monitors

  • All articles with batteries

• All glasses, e.g.

  • Sunglasses

  • Glasses with UV protection

  • Ski goggles

  • Swimming goggles

  • Bicycle glasses

• Protective gear, e.g.

  • Protective helmets

  • Shin pad

• Toys

• All items that have a toy added as a gimmick

  • The label must only be affixed to the toy itself

• All items with a battery-powered function, e.g. flashing shoes, flashing sweaters

• All articles that have UV protection

• Non-electronic beauty articles

The following four material specifications must be provided for each shoe:

• If a shoe care product contains a warning, then the warning must be put into the Description field

• If a shoe care product contains instructions for use, these must be put into the Description field

• Description, pattern, sustainability, care instructions, occasion, padding type, measurements (e.g. heel height, platform height, etc.), fastener, upper detail, heel type, shoe tip, weather, qualities

• Membrane, midsole technology, cushioning, technology, outer sole technology, extras

For further details please refer to: Material mapping guidelines for shoes.

• Whether or not attributes are mandatory, depends on the respective category of the article

• For sports articles, the sports type should always be specified in the corresponding attribute field.

• Here you can find all available Sports types on Zalando. Please note that Zalando retains the right to tag only appropriate Sports brands defined by Zalando into the Sports categories.

• If an article contains any non-textile parts of animal origin (e.g. feathers, downs, leather, mother-of-pearls/pearls, horn), then it must be stated in the corresponding attribute with Yes.

• Information about the part of animal origin must be specified in the Description field (e.g. cow leather patch)

Please note the following guideline