Towards a better geographical traceability of textiles

In today’s fashion industry, the label is an essential part of the customer journey. Labels sewn or attached to garments are a powerful communication tool, providing information about your brand identity, marketing and safety regulations. Since the AGEC law, new regulations will impact this provision from January 1, 2023.

Regulatory authorities currently require food products to indicate their country of production, which allows customers to easily identify the country of their food and determine their selection. Now, thanks to the Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy law (AGEC law) and its decree n°2022-748 of April 29, 2022 on consumer information on the environmental qualities and characteristics of waste-generating products, this will also be the case for clothing and textiles.

The decree basically targets the big brands and imports. Their objective is really to attack the most important clothing brands.

Companies, manufacturers, importers and wholesalers will be required to display the countries in the regions where three stages of production of a particular garment and shoe take place.

  • For garments: weaving (or knitting); dyeing and printing; and making up.
  • For shoes: stitching; assembly; finishing.

The information can be visible on the product directly (label) or in a dematerialized way on the product sheet.

The decree also standardizes the terms used in greenwashing communication operations, such as those relating to “recyclable” or “recycled”.

Thus, for the use of recycled materials, all manufacturers, importers and distributors are required to give the exact share in their product by stating: “[X] percent [of X] may be composed of recycled materials”, where “X” identifies the percentage that will be composed of recycled materials.

The GDPCAF (General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control) will monitor the application of this decree as of 2023 through physical checks in stores.