Case Study on a Reeco-Licensed Brand, 2024 — A Transaction Certificate Is Not a Per-Garment Claim

A Transaction Certificate (TC) certifies a mass of material in kilograms over a batch window; a Digital Product Passport under ESPR must carry a declaration per item. Most DPP designs collapse the two, treating a batch certificate as a per-garment claim. This preprint argues the collapse is a liability and that only per-garment mass-balance reconciliation closes the gap. In one audited dataset of 656,309 yards, 44.21% of certified recycled-content claims did not survive verification against the primary source. Drawing on the 2021–2024 operational record of Reeco® (110,316.70 kg certified fabric reconciled; zero labels issued over the certified ceiling; a non-conformance episode with ~€365,600 of caught exposure), the paper describes a SIAE-deposited (D000029472) boundary discipline that resolves a shortfall through two closed options and a single rule — Reeco verifies and informs; the brand decides — and closes with a recommendation to the UN/CEFACT UNTP mass-balance thread (issue #666): represent certified mass (TC) and physical composition (Test Report) as distinct evidence artifacts, and require per-garment reconciliation before a per-item claim is asserted.