Why anticipate environmental textile labelling as early as 2025?

France's textile industry is about to take a major step towards greater environmental transparency for products. A draft decree, under consultation from November 28 to December 19, aims to introduce a standardized method for assessing and communicating the environmental impact of textile products.

Although the final details may yet evolve, the aim is clear: to offer consumers greater transparency on the environmental impact of the products they buy.

The decree provides for two phases: an initial one-year phase, voluntary and supervised, starting in April 2025, followed by a phase of widespread deployment from the first quarter of 2026.

Although brands will not be forced to communicate their environmental costs immediately, the year 2025 nevertheless presents a strategic opportunity to anticipate these changes, for a number of reasons.

In this article, we detail the five main reasons why it's essential to anticipate it and not wait until 2026 to take action.

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1. Deploying environmental labelling requires anticipation in order to control data properly

Prepare the mapping, collection and structuring of your data

‍Collectand structure your data across the entire value chain

Deploying environmental cost display involves the rigorous collection and structuring of data covering your entire value chain. This data includes information on raw materials, manufacturing, logistics and distribution.‍

A mapping phase to distinguish between controlled and missing data

Before collecting new data, you need to map the data already available in your systems, and identify the additional data you need to collect. This step will enable you to effectively direct your efforts and prioritize the actions to be taken.

Collaborative collection with suppliers

Collecting additional data requires close collaboration with your supply chain and suppliers to :

• make them aware of the importance of collecting this data as part of the environmental display,
• involve them in the process and obtain reliable, comprehensive information.

A process that can take time and must therefore be anticipated

On average, we observe that it takes around six months to obtain impact results for an entire collection. This includes team training, data collection and structuring, exchanges with suppliers and impact analysis.

Therefore, we recommend that you launch these steps early enough to be ready by the phase of widespread deployment of the environmental cost display decree scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.

Ensure interoperability between your data systems:

As mentioned above, the decree on displaying environmental costs requires a brand to be able to deploy impact measurement across its entire product catalog.

To avoid operational overload and automate the process, we advise you to anticipate the subject by involving your IT teams right from the start of the project.

The IT team will play a key role in ensuring that all the data you have collected can communicate effectively between all your systems and tools (ERP, PLM, supplier databases, traceability tools and impact measurement tools).

This automated integration will make it possible to :

• Save time: by reducing double entry and manual handling.
• Greater precision: by minimizing errors linked to manual data transfers or disconnected processes.
• Operational efficiency: freeing up your teams to focus on more strategic tasks, such as results analysis or eco-design.

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2. Keep control of the environmental costs of your products

A key distinction to understand is that the decree does not, for the time being, oblige brands to publicly communicate their environmental score. This means that you can calculate and declare the environmental costs of your products, without having to communicate them immediately to your consumers if you don't want to.

However, anticipating this calculation remains crucial for several reasons:

• Avoid using default values to calculate your scores:

As part of the environmental display decree, the environmental costs of your products could be calculated and filed on the public declaration portal by third parties if you haven't already done so.

In the absence of precise data specific to your products, they will use default values, which are often too high and penalize calculations.

By anticipating the calculation of your products' impact, you can integrate specific data, known only to you, to refine the calculation of environmental costs. In this way, you can control the scores submitted to the regulatory portal.

• Preparing differentiated communication:

If you choose to communicate your scores (for example, on your product pages or labels), you have control over the narrative you wish to build around the environmental impact of your products.

The opportunity to transform a regulatory constraint into strategic leverage for

• Communicate to promote your efforts and the progress you've made thanks to eco-design.
• Gain credibility with stakeholders, by demonstrating an approach aligned with your sustainability commitments.

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3. Anticipate the environmental cost of your products now

With the decree, even if communication on environmental impact is not immediately mandatory, it will become a key factor in influencing consumer purchasing behavior. The transparency provided by environmental labelling will encourage consumers to compare products according to their impact.

That's why it may be strategic for you to anticipate the following aspects:

Position yourself in relation to the market and your competitors

A precise analysis of the environmental impact of your products will enable you to position yourself in relation to market standards and your competitors. By knowing your strengths and weaknesses as early as 2025, you'll be able to anticipate consumer expectations, which will favor more environmentally-friendly products.

Anticipate your teams' skills needs

CSR, Purchasing, Quality and Production teams will need to adopt standardized methodologies and measurement tools. A gradual build-up of skills is essential to ensure smooth integration of these new requirements.

Identify your impact hotspots and reduce the impact of your future collections

The products you will be developing in 2025 and 2026 are very likely to be affected by the environmental cost display decree.

By starting now to measure the environmental impact of your products, you can get a head start on understanding the most important emissions factors throughout the life cycle of your products.

These analyses will serve as a basis for identifying and prioritizing impact reduction levers that are relevant to your own constraints (price, style, etc.), so that you can start integrating them into the development of your future collections.

Feed and steer your global impact reduction trajectory

The granular data obtained from the impact analysis will enable you to carry out eco-design at product level, as mentioned in the previous point, but will also be used to build and monitor your impact reduction strategy at global level.

Thanks to this precise data, you can :

• Set clear objectives:

Identify possible reductions in the main emission sources (materials, manufacturing, transport, etc.) and define concrete targets.

• Follow your trajectory over time:

Manage your reduction strategy by collection, product family or year, using measurable indicators and reliable data to simulate and adjust all your actions.

• Strengthen your credibility:

Demonstrate to your stakeholders that you are following a path in line with your sustainability commitments.

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4. Capitalizeon environmental labelling to feed into other environmental regulations

Environmental labelling should not be seen as an isolated constraint, but as a strategic opportunity to meet multiple regulatory requirements and structure a coherent approach to sustainability.

Anticipating the ESPR (European Sustainable Products Regulation)

In parallel with French regulations, European regulations are evolving. By 2027, the ESPR, including new eco-design requirements for products, will come into force at European level.

By mastering the environmental impact of every stage in your products' lifecycle as early as 2025, you'll be one step ahead of the game in integrating these future constraints into the day-to-day operations of your purchasing and product teams, without the risk of overloading them.

To specify your carbon footprint (scope 3)

The data collected for the environmental display can be used directly to contribute to your carbon footprint, particularly scope 3, which accounts for over 90% of a brand's emissions.

Why carry out a more detailed analysis of Scope 3 of your carbon footprint?

1. To have a carbon footprint that is more representative of reality (and often lower, since the majority of the footprint will be measured with much greater precision, and therefore with less average and grossing-up data).
2. To help you build and monitor your impact reduction trajectory
3. To better meet the growing expectations of investors and stakeholders in terms of climate transparency.

Simplify your CSRD reporting

Consolidated data (energy consumption, impact on biodiversity, water use, pollution) obtained by measuring the environmental impact of your products can also be integrated into your sustainability report.

An integrated approach to maximize your efforts

Taking a holistic approach by linking environmental display requirements to other regulatory obligations, such as ESPR, DPP, CSDD and CSRD reporting, saves your teams time and maximizes the strategic value of the data collected and your efforts.

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So how do you get started right away?

ADEME's Texhabi grant (call for textile eco-design projects) is a financial opportunity to kick-start your transition. This aid can cover part of the costs associated with impact measurement, data collection and initial eco-design projects, enabling you to reduce your anticipation costs.

To find out more: Discover Ademe's textile eco-design assistance: Texhabi call for projects

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