On August 23, 1887, the British Parliament passed the Merchandise Marks Act. Foreign goods sold in Britain and its colonies, German goods above all, had to be marked with their origin. Until then, products from Germany had been considered billig, schlecht und nicht sehr haltbar, cheap, bad and not very durable. As German quality improved, the label soon stopped being a stigma. It became eine Auszeichnung, a mark of distinction.