Glimpact, a leading platform for evaluating the full environmental impact of products and organisations, has introduced the Global Impact Score—North America’s first publicly accessible tool for assessing the key drivers of environmental footprints across fashion products.
More than a simple measurement tool, the Global Impact Score enables users to pinpoint the most effective strategies for reducing impact through eco-design. Powered by dynamic simulation, it supports evidence-based decisions in sustainable product development.
Freely available to users, the platform employs the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology—a robust Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach endorsed by the European Commission. It evaluates 16 environmental indicators, including climate change, particulate matter emissions, water scarcity, fossil and mineral resource depletion, land use, ozone depletion, smog formation, acidification, ionising radiation, multiple forms of eutrophication, human toxicity (both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic), and freshwater ecotoxicity. These are combined into a single aggregated score, representing a product’s overall “environmental price.”
Crucially, this tool offers a far more holistic view than carbon metrics alone. It addresses the full spectrum of environmental pressures and aligns with the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which came into effect in July 2024. This regulation mandates the integration of environmental performance into product design—an innovation set to reshape the future of the fashion industry.
The Global Impact Score also equips brands to uncover environmental risks often overlooked in traditional assessments. In a recent study, Glimpact used the tool to analyse garments from Patagonia, Reformation, H&M, Alo Yoga, and Ralph Lauren, revealing pivotal insights into the sector’s ecological evolution.
“The environmental crisis is not just about climate—it’s systemic and must take into account all components of the ecological crisis,” said Christophe Girardier, Founder and CEO of Glimpact. “Our new Global Impact Score tool makes the scientific methodological framework adopted by the European Union accessible to all fashion stakeholders. This empowers brands to prepare for and comply with the requirements of the ESPR, which will make it mandatory to declare the environmental performance of each product and comply with eco-design requirements. It is time for the fashion industry to embrace a new era—placing eco-design at the heart of development models and not at a purely marketing and opportunistic level.”
Assessment results are categorised by both environmental impact and life cycle stage, revealing the main contributors to a product’s footprint. Users can test design modifications—such as alternative materials or production techniques—in real time, providing actionable insights into how these changes affect the overall environmental outcome.
