You know the French textile eco-score is coming, but how do you actually get a score for a garment? The calculation runs on Ecobalyse, the public tool built by the French State and ADEME (the French ecological transition agency). This practical guide covers the data you need, how the Ecobalyse calculation works, the parameters that move the score, and how to declare and display it.
Ecobalyse in a nutshell
Ecobalyse calculates the "environmental cost" of a garment, the official name for what is commonly called the textile eco-score. The method is based on life cycle assessment (LCA): raw material production, spinning, weaving or knitting, finishing (dyeing, treatments), making-up, transport, use and end of life.
The result is expressed in impact points: the higher the number, the heavier the garment's footprint. On top of standard LCA impacts, the method adds two textile-specific components: microfibre release and the risk of the garment being exported outside Europe at end of life.
The method currently covers 11 garment categories: briefs, boxers, socks, shirts, jeans, skirts and dresses, swimwear, coats and jackets, trousers, jumpers, and T-shirts and polos. Other products, such as down jackets or some technical items, are not covered yet.
The data to gather before calculating
The Ecobalyse calculation itself is quick once your data is ready. The real work happens upstream: collecting reliable information from your suppliers, product by product.
Core information
- Product category (one of the 11 covered categories).
- Weight of the finished product, in grams.
- Composition: type and percentage of each material (cotton, polyester, wool, recycled fibres, etc.).
- Manufacturing locations: country of weaving or knitting, finishing and making-up.
Information that refines the score
- origin of raw materials and spinning country;
- share of air transport;
- number of products in your range and retail price;
- whether you offer a repair service, and its cost.
When data is missing, the calculation applies a default value, for example India for spinning. These defaults may not match your reality: if you manufacture in Europe, entering your actual sites often makes a difference.
The Ecobalyse calculation, step by step
- Pick your tool. The Ecobalyse web calculator is enough for a handful of products. For a full catalogue, the Ecobalyse API calculates scores in bulk from your product files.
- Enter the product. Category, weight, composition, then manufacturing locations. Add any optional parameters you have.
- Read the result. Ecobalyse shows the total environmental cost in impact points, broken down by life cycle stage. It is the best way to see what weighs most on your product.
- Test scenarios. Switching a material, a making-up country or removing air freight shows the effect on the score instantly. The tool becomes an eco-design aid, not just a compliance step.
- Keep a record. Save the data used and the method version: you will need them for the declaration.
The levers that move your score
The score does not depend on materials alone. Three groups of parameters carry a lot of weight, and several are in the brand's hands.
| Lever | What matters | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | Fibre types, share of synthetics (microfibres), recycled content | Review compositions on best-selling products |
| Manufacturing | Country of each step, electricity mix, air transport | Enter your real sites, limit air freight |
| Durability | Range breadth, repair incentives | Document your repair offer and range policy |
The durability coefficient deserves special attention: a very wide, constantly renewed range is associated with shorter use, while an accessible repair offer works the other way. It is one of the few parameters that directly rewards business model choices.
Declaring and displaying the environmental cost
Once the score is calculated, the brand declares it on the official environmental labelling portal. Login is through ProConnect, using the company's French SIRET number (companies without one fill in a prior questionnaire). Each declaration links the score to a product reference and to the parameters used, which become publicly available.
Display follows an official design charter: the label can appear on the product, on the shelf or on the e-commerce site. The portal also offers a label generation API to produce visuals in the right format.
Speed matters: since 1 October 2026, a third party can calculate and publish the score of a product the brand has not declared. We explain this in our article on what changes on 1 October 2026.
Scaling the calculation across a whole catalogue
For a few products, the web calculator and manual entry on the portal work fine. Beyond a few dozen references, one-by-one entry quickly becomes unmanageable, and every new collection starts the work again.
That is what Qezako's Textile Eco-Score module is for: one-shot catalogue import, score calculation through the official Ecobalyse API, automatic label generation, a dedicated QR code per product and a structured CSV file ready to upload to the declaration portal.
Key takeaways
Calculating the textile eco-score with Ecobalyse is above all a data exercise: category, weight, composition and manufacturing locations, ideally completed with durability and transport information. Once that data is reliable, calculation, declaration and display can be automated across your whole range.
Want to calculate your whole catalogue with Ecobalyse? Let's review your product data and see how to calculate, declare and display your environmental cost at scale.
