PEF: Product Environmental Footprint for fashion

Consumers want more transparency into the impacts of fashion brands. Today, there are few product labels that provide clear, credible environmental information to consumers. The labeling process is messy: There are no common rules to measure products’ environmental performance and, ultimately, inform purchasing decisions.

Quantis helped the European Commission settle on a single set of standards for evaluating the impacts of products to better communicate the results to consumers: the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method. Quantis was selected to serve as technical expert to apply the PEF framework to apparel and footwear products. Since then, we have led five of 27 PEF pilots — dairy, packed water, pet food, coffee and retail — as well as two PEF "transition phases" apparel and footwear and flexible packaging. Our role involved applying a robust, science-based framework across the industry and encourage companies to drive sustainable action.

The project
How Quantis can help

Companies are faced with too many different methods and initiatives for product labels, with little scientific backing to substantiate their claims.

Standardize with science-backed methods

By settling on a single labelling methodology, the apparel and footwear PEF project aims to standardize practices, for more informed decision-making from consumers, increased credibility of product labels and opportunities to spot improvement areas.

Quantis was responsible for two key deliverables to provide a holistic view of the hotspots and prevent shifting impacts from one area to another:

  • Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs)
    We wrote comprehensive rules on how footprints are calculated and applied across 13 product sub-categories.
  • Product Environmental Footprint Representative Product (PEF-RP) study
    We modeled a virtual representative product from each of the 13 product subcategories (from t-shirts to underwear) so companies can benchmark their products against an average product sold in Europe.

How Quantis can help

For two decades, our dynamic and visionary team has partnered with organizations across the globe to transform their industries and shape a new, planetary economy that aligns business with nature.

We guide industries on the transition from business as usual to business at its best.

Let’s talk

  • Receive a PEF overview training

    We provide the basics to help your business understand how PEF can be useful to your organization.

  • Understand the PEF methodology

    We do a deeper dive on PEF, exploring the methodology behind the service and how it has evolved.

  • Calculate the PEF of your products

    We help companies pinpoint environmental hotspots and take action to reduce them.