France Publishes Environmental Cost Labeling for Textile Products

France has released two official documents outlining its requirements for informing consumers about the environmental cost of the textile products they purchase. Implementation began on a voluntary basis on October 1, 2025.

On September 6, 2025, France published Decree n°2025-957 and an associated Arrêté, outlining the framework for calculating and communicating the environmental cost of textile products. These regulations establish a voluntary environmental labeling system for most clothing articles. However, certain products are excluded, such as household linens, disposable items, etc.

As the EU Product Environmental Footprint Category Rule (PEFCR) results cannot currently be shared with consumers, the French decree applies only to manufacturers, importers or marketers who voluntarily choose to disclose the environmental cost of their textile products. This requirement applies regardless of whether the information is communicated through physical or digital means.

The environmental cost reflects the aggregated environmental impacts of a product throughout its entire life cycle, including raw material production, processing, distribution, use and end-of-life stages. It must be expressed in impact points, with a lower number indicating a lower environmental cost for the textile product.

Before displaying the environmental cost, data must be uploaded to a public digital portal. Additional data can be shared with authorities upon request. The French government provides access to an open-source database. The more companies use specific data rather than generic, the more relevant and discriminating their scores will be.

If a claim is made about a product’s environmental impact, the environmental cost must also be communicated.

The Arrêté provides further details on:

• Covered products: specifies which textile products fall under the regulation

• Data usage: outlines the types of data permissible for environmental cost calculations

• Environmental impact categories: includes categories such as acidification, climate change and human toxicities, as defined in Annex I of the European Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279 of 15 December 2021 (i.e. same as PEFCR)

• Two additional categories penalize the cost calculation:

• Textile waste exported outside Europe

• Microfiber release

• Durability coefficient: adjusts the environmental cost based on product range width and repair incentives

• Modeling criteria: incorporates 17 criteria, including product category, operation locations and material composition

Starting October 1, 2025, France’s Decree n°2025-957 and its associated Arrêté introduce a voluntary environmental labeling system for textile products, requiring standardized signage formats. These are available on the government website and should be displayed either physically or digitally. While labeling remains voluntary, it becomes mandatory if any environmental impact claims are made about the product. In these cases, disclosure of the product’s environmental cost is required.

Moreover, starting in October 2026, if a brand has not published its own environmental cost score, third parties, such as retailers or NGOs, will be permitted to disclose the score on behalf of the textile brand without requiring the brand’s prior approval.