Textile environmental labelling calculates the impact of each garment, taking into account all operations in its life cycle (e.g. cotton manufacturing, spinning, dyeing, finishing, transport, end-of-life).
The "environmental cost" calculation method is based on :
A few product-specific parameters, to be defined by the manufacturer/analyst (e.g. type of product: pants, tshirt etc.; type of material: cotton, linen, polyester; country of manufacture etc.). The Empreinte LCA database, which provides the environmental values (e.g. impact of 1kg cotton, 1kwh electricity, 1kg glass etc.). The calculation method, which is an enriched version of the PEF (PEF-wise approach). The method contains the PEF indicators, weighting rules and complementary indicators.
At the end of the 2021-2022 experiment, 8 key criteria have been identified for calculating the “environmental cost”. Some of these criteria are already well taken into account in the European “PEF” methodology, while others are partially or not considered at this stage.
The 8 key criteria, and how they are taken into account in the PEF
The French environmental display method is based on the PEF, which is supplemented by a number of key dimensions (PEF-wise approach).
The specific data required to calculate the “environmental cost” in level 1 are :
type of garment (pants, T-shirt, etc.),
materials used
country(ies) of manufacture (for the various stages).
These elements make it possible to calculate the environmental impact of each garment throughout the production chain.
The PEF method covers 16 standardized impact indicators, including climate, air, soil, water, resources, etc.
Pending finalization of the PEFCR “Apparel and Footwear”, these 16 indicators are completed for :
Microfibers and micro-plastics
Intrinsic and extrinsic durability of garments
Toxicity of finishing processes
End-of-life, to take exports into account.
The database used for environmental values (e.g. impact of cotton, of 1 KWh, etc.) is the base Empreinte, fed by Ecoinvent data (version 3.10) under a partnership agreement.
Detailed methodology is provided in the Ecobalyse documentation..
