France Proposes Mandatory Environmental Rating for Textiles

On 11 February 2020, the French junior Ministry of Environment opened talks with the Environment & Energy Management Agency (ADEME) and around 70 major global fashion/textile actors in France in order to make mandatory, within two years, a scoring system under which apparel and textile products must display a rating from A to E to demonstrate how environmentally friendly they are.

In accordance with the recently enacted Anti-waste and Circular Economy Law 2020-105, the scoring system will help the fashion industry to lower its negative impact on the environment, better inform consumers about the source and processes involved in making clothing, and enable them to quickly identify the most environmentally responsible products.

The rating system will include several environmental criteria including:

• the carbon footprint of producing and transporting the garments
• the amount of water the garment took to produce
• the level of toxicity in the fabric and dye
• the product recyclability, etc.

Take a look at our coverage of extended producer responsibility in France in our white paper covering recent developments in France and Europe around textile and footwear EPR requirements.

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