French Decree 2025-957 introduces mandatory environmental cost labelling for textile products. Here's what it means, when it takes effect, and what you need to do.
French Decree 2025-957 implements Article L. 541-9-1 of the French Environment Code, requiring environmental impact labelling (the "Environmental Cost" or coût environnemental) for textile products sold to French consumers.
The law requires brands to calculate and display the environmental impact of their textile products using a methodology defined by the French government. This methodology is implemented via the Ecobalyse open-source tool and API.
The goal is to give consumers clear, comparable information about the environmental footprint of the clothes they buy — similar to the energy labels on appliances, but for textiles.
French Decree 2025-957 is published, establishing the legal framework for textile environmental cost labelling.
From October 2026, NGOs and other third parties can publish environmental cost scores for brands that haven't calculated their own. These will use default (worst-case) assumptions. This is the critical deadline.
The EU Digital Product Passport requirement for textiles is expected in this timeframe. The French Eco-Score data you've already entered feeds directly into the DPP.
Any brand selling textile products to French consumers. This includes:
The obligation applies to clothing, footwear, and household textiles. It covers new products placed on the French market, not secondhand or vintage.
For each product: fibre composition (with percentages), product weight, manufacturing countries for each production stage, and any certifications. You already know this — it's on your care labels and in your supplier records.
Use the Ecobalyse methodology to calculate your environmental cost score. You can do this directly via the Ecobalyse website, or use a platform like Passportly that calls the API automatically from your product data.
The score must be accessible to French consumers at the point of sale. For online stores, this means displaying it on product pages. Passportly's WooCommerce and PrestaShop plugins handle this automatically.
If your product formulation, materials, or manufacturing changes, recalculate the score. The score reflects a specific product configuration.
After October 2026, NGOs and other organisations can publish environmental scores for your products using default data. These defaults assume the worst case. The resulting score will likely make your products look worse than they are.
Brands with good environmental scores can use them as a marketing advantage. Consumers increasingly make purchasing decisions based on environmental impact. A calculated score shows you care enough to be transparent.
The data you gather for your Eco-Score is 70% of what you need for your EU Digital Product Passport. Starting now means you're building your DPP data set 18 months before the deadline.
EU retailers are already asking suppliers for environmental data. Having your Eco-Score calculated and your DPP data structured puts you ahead of suppliers who wait until the last minute.
Start free with 3 products. Calculate your French Eco-Score and start building your DPP — same data, same platform, two regulatory outputs.