France launches the Textile Eco-Score

🇫🇷 France’s Textile Eco-Score Started on October 1st!

France has officially introduced its Textile Eco-Score (coût environnemental), a new environmental labeling system for textiles.

The framework was notified to the European Commission and validated in May 2025.
The decree on environmental labeling was published in September 2025.
The regulation enters into force on October 1, 2025.

🔎 How does the scoring work?

The Eco-Score is calculated using Ecobalyse, an open-source environmental impact assessment tool developed by:

The French Ministry of Ecological Transition
The Ministry of Biodiversity
The Ministry of Forests, Oceans and Fisheries
ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency)

Ecobalyse builds on the EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), which includes 16 criteria such as:

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
Impacts on biodiversity
Water and resource consumption
Pollution, etc

The result: a product receives Eco-Score points—the lower the score, the lower its environmental impact. Scores are shown both for the entire product and per 100 grams, making it easier to compare across categories.

📅 Implementation Timeline

From October 1, 2025: Publication of Eco-Scores is possible and strongly encouraged.
After a one-year transition period, display becomes mandatory.
Once mandatory, if a brand does not publish the score, third parties (distributors, NGOs, consumer groups) will have the right to do so.

🌍 Why it matters

France is the first country to roll out a mandatory Eco-Score for textiles. What’s especially notable is that NGOs and consumer groups will be empowered to publish the score themselves if brands do not comply.

This raises big questions:

Could this accelerate sustainability efforts in the fashion industry?
Will other countries follow suit?
How will global brands adapt to a scoring system that makes environmental impact visible to consumers?

It will be interesting to see how things go. I wonder if Japan will move towards something similar or not!

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