TexScore, our solution for calculating and publishing the textile Eco-score

From environmental impact to comparable data

France has taken an important step towards making clothing impacts visible. Its official indicator, the coût environnemental, expresses the environmental cost of a garment as a score: the lower the result, the lower its estimated impact. Although “textile Eco-Score” is commonly used, that is an informal name; the regulatory term is environmental cost.

The result makes it possible to compare products in the same family using a common methodology. For brands, it is more than a label: it is a new way to connect design, procurement, traceability and environmental communication.

What the official methodology calculates

The method developed by the French authorities with ADEME uses life-cycle assessment and follows a garment from raw material sourcing to end of life. Ecobalyse, the French government’s public tool, implements the calculation and lets users test how product data changes the result.

The stages and factors considered include:

• Raw materials, spinning, weaving or knitting, dyeing and finishing.
• Garment manufacturing, production countries and transport between stages.
• Use and end of life, together with life-cycle environmental impacts.
• Specific complements, such as extrinsic durability and microfibre emissions.

When information is missing, the model can use default values. This enables calculation, but may also penalise the result: having robust primary data becomes a tangible advantage.

What changes in October 2026

The framework entered into force on 1 October 2025 as a regulated voluntary scheme. It is therefore not accurate to claim that every brand is generally required to publish a score from October 2026.

There is, however, an important operational change one year later: from 1 October 2026, third parties may calculate and communicate the environmental cost of products when the manufacturer or importer has not done so, subject to the decree’s conditions. In addition, when a company voluntarily communicates another aggregated environmental score for a garment, it must also display the official environmental cost. The details should be assessed for each case and communication channel.

The real challenge is managing the data

Calculating one isolated reference is relatively simple. Doing it consistently for hundreds of styles, variants and suppliers requires governance. Brands need to know each garment’s composition, where it was transformed, which processes were applied and what evidence supports each data point.

A well-structured data foundation goes beyond compliance: it allows teams to compare design alternatives, identify critical suppliers, reduce dependence on defaults and prioritise improvements with real impact.

That same data foundation opens an additional path: feeding an artificial intelligence engine capable of generating eco-design recommendations. By identifying which parameters weigh most in each garment, AI can propose concrete improvements in materials, processes and suppliers that minimise impact and improve the resulting score, both in the French coût environnemental and in the European PEF (Product Environmental Footprint).

How TexScore helps

TexScore, an application developed by Xanelum, organises the complete process around the product catalogue. Its goal is to reduce manual work and turn a technical methodology into an operational workflow for sustainability, quality, product and management teams.

• Import catalogues from Excel, CSV or management systems.
• Structure requests for supplier information and its validation.
• Centralise materials, processes, countries and documentary evidence.
• Automate calculations through Ecobalyse and generate results and documentation.

The same data structure supports gradual progress towards greater traceability requirements and the future European Digital Product Passport, without confusing that preparation with a single mandatory date for the entire industry.

A project accelerated at BF ClimaTech

TexScore is being accelerated at BF ClimaTech, the Business Factory for environmental solutions and the circular economy promoted by the Xunta de Galicia and managed by Viratec. The project directly addresses two of its challenges: moving towards circular textiles and putting digitalisation at the service of environmental sustainability.

The acceleration programme enables the solution to be validated with the industry, strengthens the product and prepares it to scale. It is another step towards helping textile companies anticipate change with their own data, rather than reacting once regulatory or commercial pressure becomes urgent.

Preparing early enables better decisions

The opportunity is not to produce a label quickly, but to build a reliable, reusable information foundation. Starting now makes it possible to identify gaps, involve suppliers and use environmental cost as a product improvement tool.