3. Products

This article includes the following sections: 

• 3.1 What is a Product? – Defines a product and its role.
• 3.2 How to Identify Unique Products – Explains how to distinguish products. 
• 3.3 What is the Data Needed for Products? – Lists required fields for importing product data. 
• 3.4 Dependencies on Other Entities – Describes links between products and other entities. 
• Example of Some Product Data – Shows a sample spreadsheet of product data.
  
  
  

3.1 What is a product?

Product data covers all the finished goods items that you sell to your customers — from shoes and dresses to wallets and accessories. This represents the complete articles ready for sale that customers purchase from your brand.

 

3.2 How to identify unique products

The key rule: If any of these three attributes differ, they represent distinct products in our system. Each unique combination will receive separate traceability, environmental analysis and calculations.

Let's illustrate this with an example:

Consider a ZIPPED COAT with Product Reference ZC-001

• • If this coat is available in three different colors: NAVY, BLACK, and GREY, and they are all part of your WINTER 2025 collection, Fairly Made considers these as 3 distinct products and will perform 3 distinct analysis:

    productRef	colorCode	productCollectionRef
    ZC-001	BEIGE	WINTER 2025
    ZC-001	NAVY	WINTER 2025
    ZC-001	BLACK	WINTER 2025

  • If you renew this exact ZC-001 Zipped Coat in the WINTER 2026 collection, still in the same three colors, these would be considered a further 3 distinct products and thus 3 new and additional analysis for that new collection:

    productRef	colorCode	productCollectionRef
    ZC-001	BEIGE	WINTER 2026
    ZC-001	NAVY	WINTER 2026
    ZC-001	BLACK	WINTER 2026

Total result: The system would recognize 6 distinct products related to the ZC-001 style across both collections.

 

3.3 What data is needed for Products?

This section details each field required when importing product data. Understanding these fields, their definitions, and their constraints is essential for a successful data import.

💡 Need Help? If you don't have detailed information for some fields, contact your Fairly Made analyst for guidance on appropriate default values.

productRef ⭐

Your internal code or reference name for this product style. This code, along with the Color Code and Collection, makes each product unique in our system.

• Format: Letters and numbers accepted, maximum 70 characters

The reference of the product is displayed on Fairly Made App, along with the name

productCollectionRef ⭐

The name or reference of the collection the product belongs to at the time of analysis.

• Format: Letters and numbers accepted

The collection is used to group your products on Fairly Made app

The collection allows you to filter your products

category ⭐

Select the product category from our predefined list that best describes this item (e.g., TSHIRTS, DRESSES, PROTECTIVE BOOTS).

Why this matters: The category determines which Fairly Made methodology basis we apply and affects default components assigned when specific composition data isn't available. It's also used in French Single Score for deadstock and average market price data points, and for display and filtering within the platform.

• Where to find options: Taxonomy PRODUCT_CATEGORY

supplierRef ⭐

Your internal reference code for the supplier of this finished product. For Products data, indicate your finished product supplier (manufacturer or agent) who will be associated with the Manufacturing step.

Why this matters: The supplier referenced here will be contacted during Supplier Data Collection to gather information about their factory through the Supplier Form, since they're associated with the Manufacturing step at Product level. They may also receive Material Forms if they're used in Components data or if no Components are listed for this product.

• Format: Must exactly match an existing supplier reference from your supplier data

warehouseRef ⭐

Your internal reference code for the main warehouse where the product is stored. If you have multiple warehouses, indicate your main one here.

Why this matters: The warehouse address is used to compute the total environmental impact of the product, including transport to the warehouse as a final step.

• Format: Must exactly match an existing supplier reference from your supplier data (warehouses should be listed as suppliers)

reachCompliance ⭐

Indicates if the product complies with REACH regulations.

Why this matters: REACH compliance is mandatory for all companies that manufacture, import, or use chemical substances in the EU, including when these substances are part of mixtures or articles. This ensures regulatory compliance and consumer safety.

• Where to find options: Taxonomy REACH_COMPLIANCE
• Format: Must be "1" (compliant) or "0" (not compliant)
• Reference: See ECHA substances list for substances restricted under REACH

ecoModulation ⭐

The eco-modulation bonus or penalty linked to this product.

Why this matters: France's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) principle uses eco-modulation to reward companies for eco-design efforts or penalize those making end-of-life management difficult, directly affecting your costs and compliance standing. This information appears in AGEC showcases.

• Where to find options: Taxonomy ECO_MODULATION
• Common default: NONE is commonly used as a default option if information isn't available

producedQuantity ★

The total number of pieces produced for this specific product reference in the considered collection and color.

Why this matters: Produced quantity is used in Supply Chain Intelligence to compute the total amount of a material based on its sourcing.

• Format: Must be an integer

💡 Tip: This data can also be filled at category and year level directly in the Fairly Made app.

packagingRefs ★

Your internal reference codes for the packaging used with this product.

Why this matters: Links packaging references to products and is necessary to display mandatory allegations that AGEC law requires for packaging on product showcases.

• Format: References must already exist in your packaging data
• Multiple packaging: Use semicolon ";" to separate multiple references

productColorCode

The code or reference for the product's color.

• Format: Letters and numbers accepted, “string” type field
• Common default: Use DEFAULT if there's no specific color, or if left blank, it will be set to DEFAULT

name

The internal name of the product as it will appear within the Fairly Made platform interface.

• Format: Any text or numbers accepted

The name of the product is displayed on Fairly Made App

publicName

The name of the product that will be displayed publicly in product showcases.

• Format: Any text or numbers accepted
• Common default: The public name can be the same as the name

The public name is displayed in the public showcase of your product

purchaseOrder

The purchase order number for the product.

• Format: Letters and numbers accepted

weight

The weight of the product in grams.

Why this matters: Product weight is used in computing environmental impact calculations and affects LCA results, thus influencing your French environmental cost.

• Format: Numbers accepted (decimals allowed), should be between 5 and 10000

💡 Need Help? Since this is not mandatory, if you don't have this information, we'll apply a weight based on the product category using our Framework.

composition

The material composition of the product, as stored in your systems.

• Format: Any text or numbers accepted
• Important: This field is not used to compute product impact; individual component compositions are used instead for calculations

certifications

Certificates or labels for the finished product itself (not for materials or suppliers).

Why this matters: Product certifications are visible on your product pages and can appear on your showcases, demonstrating compliance with environmental, social, or quality standards.

• Where to find options: Taxonomy PRODUCT_CERTIFICATIONS_LABELS
• Multiple certifications: Use semicolon ";" to separate multiple certifications

The product certification is displayed in the product information

gtinsOrEans

The list of GTIN codes associated with the product.

Why this matters : Allows Fairly Made to declare your French Environmental Cost to the official government portal and ensures it can be displayed on your eligible products showcases, if you have delegated this responsibility to us. See more here.

• Multiple values: Use semicolon ";" to separate multiple GTINs
• Format : 8, 12, 13, or 14 digits

manufacturingAssemblyCountry

The country where the product was last manufactured or assembled.

Why this matters: Allows data transfer when the supplier linked at product level is based in another country (agents, traders, groups) and ensures compliance with AGEC law for manufacturing steps (Manufacturing for ready-to-wear and Assembly, Finishing and Stitching for shoes).

• Where to find options: Taxonomy COUNTRY
• Format: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes
  
  

3.4 Dependencies on other entities

Suppliers

The Product data includes references to suppliers via the supplierRef and warehouseRef fields.

For your product import to be successful, the reference codes you provide in the supplierRef and warehouseRef columns must exactly match reference codes of suppliers that you have already imported into the Fairly Made system via the SUPPLIERS data tab.

The system uses these reference codes (supplierRef and warehouseRef) to look up and link the product to the corresponding supplier entries already in its database.

Packaging

The Product data includes a field, packagingRefs, to link products to the packaging materials used.

Similar to suppliers, for your product import to be successful, the reference codes you provide in the packagingRefs column must exactly match reference codes of packaging items that you have already imported into the Fairly Made system via the PACKAGING data tab.

Remember from section 3.3, if a product uses multiple packaging types, you will list their references separated by a semicolon ";" in the packagingRefs field. All individual references within that semicolon-separated list must exist in your imported Packaging data.

Ensuring Data Linkage

The timing of when you imported the Supplier and Packaging data does not matter, provided the references are consistent. What is important is that before you import a Product make sure that associated supplierRef, warehouseRef, and packagingRefs are already created and exist in the system from previous SUPPLIERS and PACKAGING imports.

 

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Example of some products data

Below is a short example showing what a portion of your import data might be like for a few products, illustrating some of the fields described above: