BCome models the use of both pre- and post-consumer recycled content using the Circular Footprint Formula (CFF), developed by the European Commission as part of its Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) initiative. This formula provides a scientifically grounded way to distribute the environmental burdens and benefits of recycling between the product that originally generated the waste and the new product made from those recycled materials.
How the Circular Footprint Formula (CFF) works
The CFF is the allocation rule that governs how BCome calculates the impact of any recycled material a brand declares in its product traceability. It ensures that recycled content is neither treated as impact-free nor penalized unfairly. Here is how it works:
- The burden of the recycling process The new product takes on the full environmental impact of the recycling process itself — collection, sorting, and reprocessing of the waste material into new, usable fiber or input.
- A share of the virgin material impact (the “A” factor) The formula then adds a portion of the environmental impact of the virgin material that the recycled content replaces. This weighting — the “A” factor — ensures that the recycled material’s footprint reflects its connection to the broader material market, which includes virgin production. For most textile materials, the A-factor is set to 0.8, meaning recycled content receives a significant credit compared to its virgin equivalent, while still carrying a realistic, non-zero footprint.
- Quality adjustment (Qsin/Qp ratio) If the recycled material has a lower functional quality than the equivalent virgin material, the environmental benefit is proportionally adjusted downward. This prevents over-crediting materials that require more processing or have a shorter useful life.
This combined approach rewards the use of secondary materials while maintaining scientific accuracy and preventing misleading claims.
Pre-consumer vs. post-consumer waste
BCome applies the CFF to both primary types of recycled content:
- Pre-consumer waste refers to material diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process — for example, fabric scraps from a cutting room that are collected and re-spun into new yarn. In BCome 1.8, new pre-consumer datasets are available for materials such as PET polyester, polyamide, viscose, wool, spandex, and others.
- Post-consumer waste refers to material from a product that has been used by a consumer and then diverted from landfill for recycling — for example, plastic bottles processed into recycled polyester fiber, or discarded garments reprocessed into new fiber.
The CFF methodology uses specific datasets from the PEF Database 3.1 that reflect the different collection efficiencies and processing requirements for each type of waste.
Background modeling: why BCome switched from APOS to Cutoff (v1.8)
Beyond how BCome models the recycled materials that brands declare, the background database — which covers all the upstream and downstream processes in BCome’s LCA — also has a modeling approach that affects results for recycled content.
In BCome versions prior to 1.8, the ecoinvent database was used in its APOS (Allocation at the Point of Substitution) configuration. In BCome 1.8, this was switched to the Cutoff model. Understanding the difference helps explain why results may change between versions.
| APOS model | Cutoff model | |
|---|---|---|
| Core principle | Allocation at the point of substitution | “Polluter pays” / recycled content |
| Recycled material | Carries a share of the burden from its first life | Enters the system burden-free from its first life |
| End-of-life responsibility | Credited to the producer of the recyclable material | Falls entirely on the waste producer |
| Best suited for | Consequential LCAs with market-level thinking | Attributional LCAs, PEF studies, EPDs |
Why BCome made this change:
The PEF’s Circular Footprint Formula is built on the same logic as the Cutoff model: recycled material enters a new product’s life cycle as burden-free from its previous life, with only the recycling process itself assigned to the new product. Using APOS background data alongside the CFF creates a methodological mismatch — the two systems apply different allocation rules to the same material flows, which leads to inconsistencies and complicates the interpretation of results.
By aligning the background database (Cutoff) with the foreground allocation rule (CFF), BCome 1.8 ensures that the entire LCA framework operates on a single, coherent set of rules. This makes results more accurate, more defensible for external communication, and fully aligned with the PEFCR for Apparel and Footwear v3.1.
⚠️ If your results changed between BCome 1.7 and 1.8, the switch from APOS to Cutoff is one of the contributing factors — particularly for products with a high percentage of recycled materials. This does not mean the product performs worse; it means the methodology is now internally consistent and better aligned with EU standards.
Why BCome uses this approach
The Circular Footprint Formula, combined with Cutoff background modeling, is the most rigorous and standardized way to evaluate products with recycled content. It is the approach mandated by the European Commission for PEF-compliant product assessments and is aligned with upcoming EU regulatory requirements such as the Green Claims Directive and the Digital Product Passport. This ensures that BCome’s results are comparable, credible, and ready for external reporting.