Environmental Labeling, the Future of Our Clothes

It is no longer a secret: we have little time left to take action. As the IPCC report published in April 2022 reminds us, the growth in the production of material goods is not compatible with a stable climate. To try to make things change and to engage brands and their suppliers, several laws have been voted in France and in Europe. It is within this framework that Fairly Made® has developed a platform to accompany and guide fashion brands to comply with these new regulations. Find out everything you need to know to prepare for this unprecedented change.

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PEF in Europe

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Since 2008, the European Union has been working on a method to measure the environmental impact of all consumer goods. In 2018, the European Commission launched the project. The Product Environmental Footprint, is based on the method of life cycle analysis (LCA) and allows to study the impact of a product on 19 criteria such as climate change, the use of fossil resources for energy, the use of natural resources the dangers on human health. This study is later reduced to a single score.

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AGEC and Climat et Résilience Law in France

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In the wake of the Grenelle Law of 2009, environmental labeling is one of the measures of the Climat et Résilience Law, presented by Barbara Pompili, Minister of Ecological Transition last February. The experiment has been launched and textile brands already have the possibility to display the score of their products on shelves or on the internet. This score from A to E is calculated from the reference system of ADEME, the ecological transition agency, and according to two LCA criteria: climate change (in kg CO2 eq.) and freshwater eutrophication (in kg P eq.). The latter is defined as an accumulation of nutrients in an environment to the point of imbalance. In our countryside, this phenomenon is often observed by the accumulation of algae and plants on the surface of our rivers.

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This method is currently challenged by a call for projects in which Fairly Made® is participating in order to be able to put forward a law on a national scale by 2023 and thus make environmental labeling of clothing items sold on the French market mandatory.

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In France, under the AGEC Law that took effect on January 1, 2023, brands with a turnover of more than €50 million will be obliged to display on their products the places of manufacture of the four main production stages. This is a significant step forward, as the main "made in" is not mandatory today. In order to fight against waste and to promote the circular economy, the decree will also impose the display of specific mentions in case of the presence of recycled materials (including the percentage of materials from recycling), hazardous substances and the use of synthetic fibers. These new regulations thus serve a dual purpose:

• To encourage brands to know their suppliers and control their production chain
  

• To inform and educate consumers about their own consumption and give them the tools to make informed purchases.  

Therefore, PEF and ADEME have the same ambition: to clarify the environmental impacts of clothing through a common and easily understandable index.

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The contribution of Fairly Made®

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It is not always easy to evaluate your own production chain! Fairly Made® offers tailor-made support for the fashion world. Our solution offers a high level of expertise for brands wishing to save time and comply and enter the new era of transparency. Thanks to the SaaS platform developed by Fairly Made®, fashion brands can easily have a 360° view of the social and environmental impact of their products and progress on the knowledge of their manufacturing chain. Our teams of experts support brands in gathering their supplier information, analyzing it and making it readable for consumers through QR codes and product sheets. ‍

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Here is an example of a product sheet!

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For more information, visit our website fairlymade.com!