La Fourche, France's pioneering online organic retailer, is the first to display the carbon footprint for every food product in its catalog.
In an era of declining trust in supermarkets and rapid industrialization of organic food production, French consumers demand greater transparency. To empower informed choices, La Fourche partnered with Etiquettable—a collaborative sustainable cooking app by ECO2 Initiative—to calculate the carbon footprint of products sold on its site.
How can shoppers navigate conflicting information? For instance, off-season organic tomatoes grown in France emit nearly 10 times more CO2 than those imported from Spain. While glass packaging is highly recyclable, it generates 3 to 5 times more CO2 than plastic, including recycling impacts.
"We're just starting to grasp how overconsumption of meat harms the environment. Yet, did you know one kilo of beef matches the carbon footprint of over 100 kilos of seasonal vegetables and fruits? Our collaboration with Etiquettable simplifies these complexities, meets consumer demands for transparency, and helps everyone shrink their food-related emissions," says Lucas Lefebvre, co-founder of La Fourche.
La Fourche is an online organic store offering premium, responsibly produced organic products at up to 50% less than traditional retail prices. It operates through a membership model: for €59.90/year, members enjoy unlimited orders with delivery across France and Belgium. This approach slashes margins by fourfold, saving members an average of €250 annually. Beyond affordability, La Fourche promotes equity via its "buy one, give one" initiative, donating a subscription to a low-income household for every one purchased.
This comprehensive evaluation—covering nearly 1,100 products over more than a year—is unprecedented in France. It accounts for every stage: production, processing, storage, transport, and packaging. Data draws from ADEME, France's public agency for ecological transition and energy.
The carbon footprint appears as grams of CO2 per 100g of product (e.g., 104 gCO2/100g means 104g of CO2 emitted to produce 100g). It's paired with an A+ to E rating, benchmarking against average French diets per ADEME data.
"Without an official, consumer-friendly CO2 label, we've developed a simple index from analyzing thousands of products. This score out of 100, with color coding, highlights high-impact items for moderation," explains Shafik Asal, co-founder of Etiquettable.
Climate change poses humanity's greatest threat. Founded by three entrepreneurs to foster responsible consumption, La Fourche was first in France to show Yuka scores. Now, it innovates further by displaying carbon footprints, guiding eco-conscious shoppers daily.
For more: Lafourche.fr
