Our reflections on driving positive progress, addressing challenges and fostering collective impact within the textile and apparel industry.
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) today announces a media partnership with FashionUnited, the world’s largest business-to-business cross media fashion platform for fashion professionals and companies. This collaboration will see both organizations working in close partnership in the development and promotion of content highlighting the SAC’s initiatives and efforts to engage with stakeholders in the textile and apparel industry to drive positive change.
As part of this partnership, FashionUnited is partnering with the SAC on two upcoming training sessions, the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) 4.0 Training and Science-Based Target (SBT) Training, both of which will be hosted on June 14 in Milan, Italy, following on from Planet Textiles on June 12-13.
Ahead of the launch of the updated Higg FEM 4.0 and following the recent launch of the SAC’s Decarbonization Program, the trainings will provide opportunities for business professionals from across the value chain to participate in a set of in-person trainings to optimize their knowledge on using the facility-dedicated tool and how to set and implement science-based targets.
Sponsored by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Fabric Asia, the trainings will be led by SAC’s Angela Ng, Director of Facility Tools; Joyce Tsoi, Director of Collective Action Programs; Yasotharan Manivel, Manager of Collective Action Programs; and Executive Director of The Circular Institute, Michael Sadowski.
Current fashion supply chains are highly polluting and wasteful, making the fashion industry one of the most unsustainable industries. In order to measure and quantify the sustainability impacts of a manufacturing facility, the SAC’s Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) is a valuable tool. The Higg FEM offers standardized measurements for sustainability and helps manufacturers, brands, and retailers identify and prioritize opportunities for performance improvements through the use of a common language.
However, acting on the data can sometimes be a financial challenge for manufacturers. Although sustainable technology solutions exist today, manufacturers often lack the knowledge or capital to invest in such machinery to improve their production processes. The Good Fashion Fund (GFF), a first-of-its-kind initiative by Laudes Foundation, was established to create systemic change in the textile and apparel industry by encouraging mainstream uptake of impactful and disruptive production technologies. The fund provides long-term USD loans to apparel and textile manufacturers in India and Bangladesh to enable them to implement innovative and sustainable technologies.
The first loan by the GFF was made to Pratibha Syntex in 2021. By the first monitoring visit in November 2022, the impact results surpassed the targets of a minimum of 50% savings. At the end of 2022, another loan was signed with Progress Apparels in Dhaka, and the GFF expects to close three more loans—one in Bangladesh and two in India—by the end of the quarter. The investments are diverse and relate to the enhancement of effluent treatment plants, the adaptation of state-of-the-art spinning and weaving equipment, the installation or replacement of washing unit equipment, and the expansion of unique waste-to-yarn recycling facilities.
The technology we finance relates primarily to equipment for dyeing, washing, printing, and wastewater treatment and reduces the use of hazardous chemicals, water, or energy in the production process. Every GFF investment should lead to a minimum of 50% reduction in consumption of one of our three environmental goods: Good Energy, Good Water, or Good Materials (incl. chemicals).
The GFF is unique in its focus on sustainable and ethical fashion and we’re proud to be the first financial investor to join the SAC’s global membership, utilizing the Higg FEM as a key part of our environmental due diligence process. The Higg FEM measures the exact environmental impacts of a facility’s operations that we aim to improve, such as water use, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, waste management, and chemical management. It aligns perfectly with the GFF’s objectives.
In particular, the Higg FEM assesses a facility’s overall Environmental Management Systems and specifically gathers data on energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, wastewater, air emissions, waste management, and chemical management. The score not only reflects absolute levels but particularly focuses on encouraging improvements and setting baseline levels and targets.
Having a verified Higg FEM score allows us at the GFF to limit our environmental due diligence efforts to desktop research and interviews conducted by our advisors Sphera and TUV Rheinland. When a facility is new to the Higg Index, our due diligence is more extensive and includes a site visit, but, ultimately, the manufacturers and operators in which we invest must receive a verified Higg FEM score. This allows the company to create value from the exercise and publicly communicate the results.
It is a complex analysis and will require continuous development. We are confident the SAC will maintain and leverage its close partnership with its member retailers, brands, manufacturers, and other stakeholders to continue improving and increase levels of adoption.
Moreover, the GFF uses the Higg FEM score, not only for the initial investment decision but also to better monitor continuous performance over the lifetime of our partnership with the manufacturer. As the Higg Index becomes more widely recognized and adopted, we will be able to more effectively communicate the sustainability performance of the portfolio companies to our investors. More importantly, it will help the manufacturers communicate their improved sustainability performance to consumers. The investments funded by the GFF typically improve a facility’s Higg FEM score substantially.
Our partner at TUV Rheinland, Rakesh Vazirani, Global Head of Sustainability Services, Consumer Products, noted: “Every facility we encounter for environmental due diligence is eager to make improvements to positively impact its environmental performance KPIs/metrics to showcase its progress, to explore cost savings, to highlight its uniqueness to customers, and to prepare for future regulation. Relying on existing industry frameworks like Higg FEM allowed facilities’ performance to be measured based on a harmonized framework; and GFF’s approach to fund improvements to make an impact fit into the wider mission of factories, local governments, and brands. We look forward to the continuous evolution of the Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) framework to add efficiency to the process, and further alignment with European Green Finance taxonomy.“
Of course, the assessment and improvement of working conditions and labour rights are equally important aspects of the GGF’s objectives. Currently, the social due diligence is being performed by Fairwear Foundation, and important topics such as labor policies, health and safety conditions, workers committees, adequate administration and execution of contracts, salary management and working hours, grievance mechanisms, and anti-discrimination policies are being reviewed on site. In one of the more recent transactions, for the first time, the social due diligence included assessing the company’s verified scores of the Higg Facility Social & Labor Module (FSLM). Given social audits are at least as intensive for a company to accommodate as the environmental due diligence, we are exploring the possibilities of the Higg FSLM verification as more brands and manufacturers adopt the standard.
The GFF is dedicated to creating systemic change in the fashion industry, not only by the direct impact of its investments but also by sharing experiences and lessons learned widely. We aim to create partnerships with other actors in the fashion industry and financial sector, drive awareness of opportunities for sustainable technologies, and catalyze finance. GFF will continue to report on its investee companies extensively, encouraging further use of standardized measurements including the Higg FEM and Higg FSLM scores.
San Francisco, Amsterdam, Hong Kong – March 01, 2023: The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), in collaboration with technology partner Higg, has today released the latest version of the Higg Brand & Retail Module (BRM), one of the five assessment tools in the Higg Index. The Higg BRM is a leading, holistic framework that creates an industry specific method for brands and retailers to evaluate, report on and improve Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance along their global value chains. The SAC has invested in a major update of the tool which will feature a new assessment structure and updated methodology, underpinned by a due diligence approach. The update will encourage brands and retailers to focus on real action, impact and results.
Recent findings from The Industry We Want, in partnership with Fair Wear, the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), has revealed the apparel and footwear industry is not making fast enough progress on purchasing practices, supply chain wages and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In order to drive the scale of transformation needed, brands and retailers need a clear and standardized picture of their environmental and social hotspots, to create a clear roadmap for transformation.
This new version of the assessment has been reorganized across 11 key areas, split across three pillars (environmental impacts, social impacts, governance) to be more relevant to where the industry needs to drive change, faster. The assessment has added biodiversity as a new impact area and now features more in depth questions on water and circularity as key impact areas and levers of change in the tool. The questions have also been revised to align with best in class standards; for example alignment with best practice guidance on responsible purchasing practices. Additionally, the scoring methodology has been simplified so it can be shared with users openly. The Higg BRM now provides one finite score out of 100, in addition to score breakdowns per pillar and impact area, making it easier to understand, communicate and benchmark against peers.
The assessment has been restructured to provide greater value for different organizations to prioritize our industry’s pressing ESG issues and focusing on impacts and results. Other benefits include the reduction of reporting burden through alignment with relevant frameworks and by eliminating the duplication across the entire questionnaire.
The update is based on research by the SAC’s Higg BRM team and is the result of one year of consultations and with over 75 stakeholders including members and industry experts to ensure close alignment with standard assessment protocols. It has been developed in collaboration with members, key partner organizations including Apparel Alliance members Textile Exchange and ZDHC who contributed to the development of specific content on materials, biodiversity, circularity and chemicals. The SAC also engaged STTI and the Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives Working Group of the Common Framework of Responsible Purchasing Practice (CFRPP), represented by Fair Wear, who provided input and feedback on the responsible purchasing practices section of the assessment. SAC members across all territories were also consulted and the SAC hosted three regional roundtables to ensure all geographies were represented.
Jeremy Lardeau, Vice President, Higg Index at the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, said: “We are excited to release the latest version of our Higg Brand & Retail Module, which marks a major milestone for the SAC. This update is the result of an incredible level of engagement with experts and stakeholders from across the industry, to whom we are truly grateful for the time and input provided. This process has allowed us to better align with existing industry assessment frameworks, and make sure we are addressing the needs and expectations of our members and the industry at large. Our tools must evolve to continuously improve, and while this update is a step in that direction, we will continue to iterate the BRM as the industry progresses, legislation evolves and we continue to gather insights and feedback from BRM users and other stakeholders.”
Maravillas Rodriguez Zarco, Director, Higg Brand & Retail, at the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, said: “The release of the latest version of our Higg Brand & Retail Module is a clear reflection of our mission at the SAC to transform business for exponential impact through groundbreaking tools, collaborative partnerships, and trusted leadership for industry sustainability. From the new assessment structure, to the updated methodology, we are proud of the work we have done to get to this point, we believe the latest version will provide deeper insights and value for brands and retailers and we look forward to continuing supporting them on their sustainability journeys.”
Magnus Dorsch, Head of Corporate Sustainability, About You said:
“The launch of the updated Higg BRM marks a major milestone for the SAC, its members, and the industry at large. We are honored to have contributed to the work that went into the development of the new version. Since joining the SAC in January 2021 and adopting the Higg BRM, we have supported our brand partners in aligning on a unified approach towards sustainable practices, helping them understand where they stand regarding their sustainability journeys and how to continue to support them to improve and drive progress. We believe the updated Higg BRM will serve to help us continue calibrating our ESG strategy to ensure consistency in our progress and reporting and look forward to seeing how it continues to evolve to meet the needs of the industry.”
Sarah Needham, Director of Stakeholder Engagement, Textile Exchange said:
“It is exciting to see the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s investment to move the Higg Brand & Retail Module in this direction, adding crucial updates including biodiversity as a new impact area and moving to closer alignment with our Materials Benchmark program (formally known as Corporate Fiber and Material Benchmark). We are pleased that as a part of the apparel alliance, we can continue to support on progressing our shared goal of moving the industry towards 45% GHG reduction by 2030 by providing a source for raw materials uptake information, and collaborate to streamline reporting across the fashion, apparel and textile industry.”
Klaas Nuttbohm, ZDHC Implementation Director said:
“We are excited for the opportunity to collaborate with the SAC and create greater alignment between the two organizations. The integration of the ZDHC Brands to Zero Assessment (BtZ) into the Higg BRM means a big step forward for both our organizations. This is a major advance for the apparel alliance partners to align the programmes and tools which will lead to the opportunity for our Contributor Brands to benefit from utilizing the BtZ results in the BRM reporting.”
Margreet Vrieling Fair Wear, chair of the Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives Working Group on the CFRPP, said: “We welcome the efforts of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition to seek closer alignment to the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices, developed by the MSI working group, within its Higg Brand & Retail Module. Identifying and assessing the risks and negative impacts of purchasing practices in the buyer-supplier relationship is key to mitigate negative effects on suppliers and workers. By using the responsible purchasing practices as they have been laid down in the Common Framework as input for the BRM responsible purchasing practices questions, the SAC reinforces the importance of collaboration and convergence to drive progress within our industry.”
Karin Ekberg GmbH, Founder & CEO Leadership & Sustainability said:
“The launch of the new BRM module is a great step forward for SAC and its members. It has been a pleasure for us at Leadership & Sustainability to be part of the process to develop the new BRM. As it is now aligned with international ESG standards and expectations, we believe this version will meet market demands, will support brands and retailers to measure and improve their ESG performance as well as communicate their efforts in a transparent and trustworthy manner. Congratulations to the SAC team and all contributing members!”
Brands and retailers can use the Higg BRM to understand their performance in these areas: Environment: climate, water, waste, biodiversity and chemicals; Social: workers, employees, consumers and communities; Governance: structure and management, ethics and behavior.
The updated Higg BRM is now available for brands and retailers to measure and report on their ESG impacts to understand their progress and identify areas for improvement with clarity and transparency. If your organization is interested in using the Higg BRM, please find more information here.
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About the Sustainable Apparel Coalition:
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) is an independent and impact-creating organization that aims to lead the industry toward a shared vision of sustainability based upon a joint approach for measuring, evaluating, and improving performance.
As a non-profit organization, it has members from across the apparel, footwear and textile sector, but exists independently outside any one company so that it can drive progress. The SAC’s collective action efforts bring more than 280 global brands, retailers, manufacturers, NGOs, academics and industry associations together. They represent about half of the apparel and footwear industry along the whole supply chain – from sustainability pioneers to organizations just getting started.
Before the SAC existed, companies worked in a siloed way, using their own programs and measurements that lacked standardization and an ability to drive collective action. In 2009, Walmart and Patagonia identified this as a serious problem. Joining forces, they brought together peers and competitors from across the sector, to develop a universal approach to measuring sustainability performance and founded the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.
The purpose of this Technical Paper is for Higg FEM users to start understanding and preparing for the next version of the Higg FEM (“Higg FEM 4.0”), which will officially be released on the Higg platform in November 2023. Facilities will start reporting their 2023 performance using the FEM 4.0 framework.
Learn more about the business value and benefits of the Higg Index.
The latest version of the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (Higg MSI) was released today by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and Higg Co and represents the single largest update to production processes submitted by the industry through the MSI Contributor portal since the Higg MSI was launched by the SAC in 2012. We are adding 15 new processes that were submitted through the MSI Contributor in 2020, increasing our total count of production processes submitted directly by companies from 50 to 65. These updates, combined with processes already available, contribute to the existing millions of materials options companies can review and access in the MSI.
The Higg MSI empowers designers and developers at brands, retailers, and manufacturers to compare life cycle assessment data between comparable raw material and manufacturing processes to inform and drive more sustainable design decisions. The tool can help designers understand the environmental impacts of the choices they make when selecting different processes between relevant material types. The tool measures five environmental impacts for both natural and synthetic materials: chemistry, global warming potential, nutrient pollution in water, water scarcity, and fossil fuel depletion. All background life cycle impact assessment data in the Higg MSI comes from ISO-compliant studies and reputable industry databases, primarily the GaBi database by Sphera. Once data is submitted, it is reviewed, verified, and scored by third-party experts.
By continuing to increase the pool of data contributed and shared, companies can leverage the Higg MSI to drive transformational change across their organizations and within the industry. Since the Higg MSI data is grouped into Material Categories and Production Stages, users can easily hone in on functionally equivalent raw material and process comparisons to guide decision making. For example, when a brand is designing a cotton t-shirt, its product team can consider which type of cotton best satisfies the company’s specific sustainability goals as well as the intended purpose of the garment, making more informed decisions to create sustainable products. Similarly, designers can evaluate the impacts of different types of recycled polyester among other synthetic material options.
New Updates
The Higg MSI is updated twice a year to reflect new and updated LCA data, new materials, and new manufacturing processes from suppliers in the footwear, apparel and textile industries. The update released today is the second update of 2020 — the previous update was in August. Today’s updates come from multiple geographies — including Asia, Europe, North America, and South America — and feature a total of more than 50 new natural and synthetic materials and processes that were submitted by industry stakeholders and sourced from leading industry databases.
In addition to the 15 new production processes submitted through the MSI Contributor portal, the latest version release of the Higg MSI now includes:
This update also enhances the tool’s transparency for Higg MSI users by adding direct links from data submissions to the websites of data submitters and links for documentation from background data (GaBi) when available and applicable.
Click here to view the full list of updates.
Call to Action for the Industry
Since the launch of the Higg MSI, the SAC has routinely invited and facilitated the submission of new data from various industry stakeholders. In order to drive collective action towards reducing the environmental impact of materials and increasing more sustainable material usage, the SAC invites Higg MSI users and materials experts to continue contributing material data to the tool’s growing library of materials.
In November, we began to strengthen efforts to solicit new and updated LCA data from industry partners to help ensure the best available external data inputs within the Higg MSI as part of our regular review process. We are encouraged by the ongoing conversations we’re having with industry partners, knowing that it will take all actors, working together across the value chain to transform the industry. This work continues and will be reflected in future data updates.
To learn more about how to submit data, please click here.
Hirdaramani
Read how this global leader in sustainable apparel explains how the Higg Index is helping to drive change.
— Demith Gooneratne, [Former] Environmental Sustainability Manager at Hirdaramani Exports International Ltd
Headquartered in Kahathuduwa, Hirdaramani Exports International Ltd. is a leading sustainable apparel manufacturer that operates 20 facilities across Sri Lanka. Demonstrating its commitment to combatting climate change, the company achieved carbon-neutral status at its Mihila Factory in 2018, marking a significant milestone for Asia. Hirdaramani also harnesses the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) to evaluate and enhance its environmental performance in critical areas including energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and waste management.
By using the Higg Index to pinpoint environmental hotspots, the Hirdaramani sustainability team. Has implemented energy and emissions reduction initiatives such as implementing energy-efficient LED lighting, installing skylights, and developing worker awareness programs, and have made substantial progress in achieving their 2020 goals. The company partnered with a Sri Lankan renewable energy firm to install more than 21,000 solar PV panels on eight of its facilities, contributing significantly to reducing carbon emissions and lessening the need for cooling facilities. Hirdaramani’s commitment to sustainability not only aligns with global climate goals but also enhances business value, reducing operational costs, decreasing fossil fuel dependency, and strengthening partnerships with value chain collaborators. Their journey continues as they work towards a greener, more sustainable future with improved Higg Index scores and a reduced environmental footprint.
Salomon
Learn how this European outdoor brand uses the Higg Index to foster transparency and collaboration with value chain partners.
— Celine Mazars, Senior Materials Manager, at Salomon
With a deep love for the outdoors and a strong sense of community, French sportswear brand Salomon called on the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) to assess the environmental performance of manufacturing footwear, the company’s largest product category, and integrate sustainability into operations across their supply chain. Approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative in 2022 of a 2019 baseline, Salomon’s goals include 50 percent absolute reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for scopes 1 and 2 and a 30 percent absolute reduction for scope 3 by 2030.
Salomon works closely with Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers, including fabric mills, dye houses, and outsole manufacturers, to implement sustainability best practices and further transparency. This collaborative approach not only improved communication with suppliers but also served to engage them in partnership, paving the way for lasting change in the industry. Within the first three years of adoption, all of Salomon’s Tier 1 finished goods manufacturers in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, and India now leverage the Higg FEM to measure and enhance their operations.
The company takes a unique and playful approach to sustainability through its Play Minded Program, making social responsibility accessible to employees and value chain partners, and strives to inspire their community to responsibly connect with nature – inspiring individuals to become agents of positive change. believes in a common language for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions and envisions a future where the entire industry adopts the Higg Index for trustworthy sustainability information.
Amer Sports, Salomon’s parent company, is also a Cascale member and represents numerous international sporting goods brands, like Arc’teryx and Wilson.
Read how this global materials science company sets the standard high, with cutting-edge adhesive technologies and materials that inspire packaging trends across industries and around the world.
— Helen Sahi, Director of Sustainability, at Avery Dennison
Avery Dennison is at the forefront of sustainability and innovation in the packaging industry, but a primary challenge is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address waste generation and disposal. The company’s SAC membership and use of the Higg Index have been instrumental in addressing these sustainability challenges by setting ambitious goals: A 3 percent annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that achieves a 26 percent reduction by 2025, and reusing, repurposing, or recycling at minimum 75 percent of waste to become landfill-free that same year.
To achieve these goals, Avery Dennison is investing in efficient and renewable energy sources and materials and seeking innovative partnerships across the supply chain to drive improvements in energy efficiency and waste reduction. A true partner, the company participated in SAC working groups, contributed to the development of the Higg Index, validated their scores through the Verification Pilot, and used the Higg FEM to reduce audit fatigue.
By deploying a system of wireless energy meters to obtain real-time facilities consumption data in order to make data-driven decisions, Avery Dennison achieved a more than 10 percent energy reduction at pilot sites. They are now implementing this approach at their largest manufacturing site in China, where the program will drive progress toward the company’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. As a Cascale member, Avery Dennison continues to collaborate, share knowledge, and work collectively to drive broader systemic change across the industry, ultimately creating a more sustainable and environmentally responsible future.
