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Product Impact Calculator: Environmental Cost

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Table of Contents

The Environmental Cost (Coût Environnemental) is a value displayed on physical labels to inform consumers on the environmental impact of their product purchases.

This value, also known as an Eco Score, applies to textile products (both Adult and Children-sized clothing) in accordance with French Labeling requirements and Ecobalyse methodology. This absolute value number is displayed on products or services on shelves or online within the French market to help consumers make an informed choice. Eco Score labels aim to provide reliable and easily understandable information about the environmental impact of goods throughout its lifecycle. The calculation of Environmental Cost takes into consideration 16 impact categories such as greenhouse gas emissions, damage to biodiversity, water use, and natural resource consumption. 

Requirements for environmental labeling apply to all distributors, importers, and manufacturers selling textile products in France. This includes any clothing companies that conduct business in the French market, including companies based in France or abroad.

The Ecoscore was developed in conjunction with the apparel and footwear PEFCR, and aims to provide transparency on the environmental impact of products sold in the French market by encouraging manufacturers and distributors to use sustainable practices. Click here to learn more about the relationship between French Environmental Cost and the PEF score.

 

Navigation

  1. Select Products from the top navigation bar.
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  2. On the Dashboard, select Products from the black navigation bar.
    Screenshot 2025-04-16 at 3.10.13 PM.png
  3. The new Eco Score column is visible on the Products table.
    Screenshot 2025-04-16 at 3.11.39 PM.png

 

How does it work?

The Environmental Cost feature requires four product-level details to generate regulation-compliant Eco Scores:

  • Product category
  • Raw materials and % composition
  • Country of Manufacture 
  • Exact product weight
    • The product weight is the net weight, which excludes all packaging.

If one of the mandatory parameters is missing, an Eco-score cannot be generated and an error message will pop on the screen.

Before calculating the Eco Score, the platform will prompt you to confirm if the weight is customized. The fields listed above are all available in the bulk upload template, or you can manually enter them into PIC during import. 

Note: Purchase orders are not required to create an Eco Score.

 

How to generate and download Eco Scores:

Begin by following the instructions as usual for bulk uploading products or for adding an individual product. 

Bulk Uploading Products

For bulk uploading, it is recommended to use the Bulk Upload Workbook. Download a Bulk Upload Workbook template from the bottom of the article.

  1. Ensure your bulk upload workbook includes the product category, raw materials and % composition, country of manufacture, and exact product weight, as described above.
  2. Begin by selecting Import from either the Dashboard or Product Library page.


  3. In the Bulk Upload screen, you can either drag and drop or upload a file. You can also manually enter in data.


  4. You can upload the following file formats: CSV, Excel, or JSON. We recommend CSV as a best practice.
  5. On the next screen, confirm the field mapping is correct.
    • For example, the Incoming Fields from your file match the Destination Fields suggested in the platform.
    • If a field is missing or incorrect, select the dropdown arrow to select the desired field.
    • Preview the data for the category on the right side of the window. Hovering over different rows updates the preview window.
    • Select Continue.

  6. Next, confirm the value mapping is correct.
    • For example, the Incoming Values from your file match the Destination Values suggested in the platform.
    • If a value is missing or incorrect, select the dropdown arrow to select the desired value.
    • The right side of the window contains the data preview for the category.
    • Select Continue.

  7. If you are uploading new products, you will need to change the value in the New Product column from No to Yes.
    • Click on the three dots next to the New Product header.
    • Select Find and Replace.
    • Enter No under Search for text.
    • Select Yes under Replace with…


  8. If there are any validation errors, click on the Invalid button to correct the errors.
    • Any validation errors are highlighted in red. 
    • Hover over the red cell to understand what the error is. 
    • Click on the red cell to resolve the validation error.


  9. Click Submit Data to finish uploading.
Adding an Individual Product
  1. Select Add Product from the Dashboard or Product Library tab.

     
  2. On the Add a Product panel, fill out Basic details, Advanced details, Purchase orders, and French Eco-Score Label sections.
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  3. There are several fields to input details about your product. Please note that any fields with asterisks are required to be filled out.
  4. Basic Details

    Screenshot 2025-02-13 at 11.30.05 AM.png

      • Basic details: Each field in this section is required.
        • Product Name* - Worldly T-Shirt 
          • The input for this field must be unique.
        • Product Category* - T-shirts
        • Size* - Adult
        • Materials* - 100% Cotton
        • Multi-pack - Read more about how to use multi-packs here.
        • Weight* - 0.15
        • Unit of measure* - Kilograms
  5. Advanced Details
      • Advanced details: Each field in this section is optional.
        • Component - Label/Care Label, Printed Fabric
        • Packaging - Shopping Bag, Plastic (Medium)
        • ID Type - SKU
        • Identifier - 123456
        • Tags - Merch

     

  6. Purchase Orders
    • Purchase orders: Each field in this section is optional. Duplicate purchase orders are detected by checking the date and quantity. For further guidance on filling out purchase orders, click here.
  7. French Eco-Score Label
    • Select the corresponding country for the product
    • The Edit Product pop up will appear if you have at least one purchase order linked to the product. Indicate whether you want to apply these edits to all purchase orders or only to future purchase orders.
      Screenshot 2025-04-30 at 2.20.45 PM.png
    • Once the country is saved, the platform will generate a detailed breakdown of each impact category and score contribution, read more here.

 

Generating an Ecoscore

  1. Once your products are uploaded, the system generates the Eco Score for each qualified product.
  2. Select the checkbox next to each product, followed by Download from the dropdown menu.
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  3. Check “French Label” and select Download to export your file. This export includes the Environmental Cost as well as the results of the 16 impact categories.
    Screenshot 2025-04-16 at 3.14.39 PM.png

 

Why is my product missing an Eco Score?

Select the info icon in the product row that is missing an Eco Score to learn more about why the product was not eligible. A product will be flagged and not be given an Eco Score for the following reasons:

  1. A user selects a material that does not exist in Ecobalyse.
    • Click here for guidance on which proxy to use for materials in your product that are unavailable as an option.
  2. If the product contains multiple materials, and the material % does not add up to 100%.
  3. A user selects a product category that does not exist in Ecobalyse. 
    • For example, hats, belts, wallets, and outdoor equipment are not eligible because these categories are not supported by the French ADEME methodology.
    • Click here for guidance if your product does not align with the predefined product categories.
  4. Exact product weight is not provided.
  5. Unit of weight is not provided.
  6. Country of manufacturing is not provided.

 

Overview of an Eco Score

Click on a product to reveal a detailed breakdown in the right pop out window. 

A product’s Eco Score includes the total Environmental Cost and each impact category’s score contribution.

Let’s take a look at this example, a sweater:

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The Environmental Cost of this sweater is 967 Impact Points, which is calculated by adding up the sum total of each impact category’s score contribution. 

In this example, there are 16 impact categories. Adding up the bolded numbers in the list below equals the total Environmental Cost (967 Impact Points):

  • Acidification - 0.0247 (0%)
  • Climate change - 4.4653 (0.5%)
  • Ecotoxicity - 84.3767 (8.7%)
  • Resource Use - 66.1314 (6.8%)
  • Freshwater Eutrophication - 0.001 (0%)
  • Human Toxicity - 0 (0%)
  • Ionizing Radiation - 6.4299 (0.7%)
  • Land Use - 69.1276 (7.1%)
  • Mineral Resource Use - 0 (0%)
  • Ozone Depletion - 0 (0%)
  • Photochemical Ozone Formation - 0.0148 (0%)
  • Particulate Matter - 0 (0%)
  • Marine Water Eutrophication - 0.0148 (0%)
  • Terrestrial Eutrophication - 0.051 (0%)
  • Water Use - 1.4508 (0.2%)

In addition, there are 2 additional metrics that are taken into account: Exports outside of Europe and emissions from microfibers.

The Environmental Cost, or more specifically the number that goes on the product's physical label, does not have a boundary or limit. 

The unit for Environmental Cost is points (Pts), with 1 Pt corresponding to the total environmental impact of a product in 1 year. It can be measured in Points (Pts), in milliPoints (mPts) or in microPoints (µPts) with 1 Pt = 1 000 mPt = 1 000 000 µPt.