The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), a trade association comprised of brands, retailers, manufacturers, government and non-governmental organizations and academic experts, and representing more than a third of the global apparel and footwear market, invites organizations to submit data on the environmental performance of materials for evaluation for inclusion in the SAC’s Materials Sustainability Index (MSI).
The submission period is anytime during the month of June, and the data can be related to the materials that are currently scored in the MSI, or to new materials that are not yet assessed in the index.
The purpose of the MSI is to support product design teams in selecting environmentally preferable materials from environmentally preferable suppliers during the sourcing and design processes, as well as help organizations more accurately assess the overall environmental performance of their products.
The MSI is currently used in the Higg Index 1.0 to evaluate materials, and this includes an environmental score for each material that is calculated from cradle-to-gate life cycle data. The timing of the window for submitting new data will ensure that the submitted materials data will be evaluated for inclusion in the revised Higg Index 2.0, the SAC’s measurement tool for environmental and social performance, which is expected to be released this fall.
Ryan Young, Index Manager for SAC, notes that “for the MSI, we are piloting an open and transparent process to ensure that the most accurate data possible is used to evaluate materials in the Higg Index. We encourage anyone in the materials community to use this process to conduct and submit research on materials environmental impacts so that materials evaluation is done using the best science available.”
The MSI is a cradle-to-gate index informed by life cycle assessment (LCA)- derived inventory data, intended to engage designers and the global supply chain of apparel and footwear products in environmental sustainability. The SAC’s Higg Index 2.0 will compute sustainability scores in part from the data compiled through the updated MSI.
About the Sustainable Apparel Coalition:
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition, representing more than one-third of the global apparel and footwear industries, was formed by sustainability leaders and leading environmental and social organizations to address current social and environmental challenges.
Recognizing that improved supply chain practices are both a business imperative and an opportunity, the Coalition seeks to lead a shared vision of industry supply chain sustainability through the creation and use of the Higg Index. In measuring and evaluating apparel and footwear product sustainability performance through the Higg Index, the Coalition aims to spotlight priorities for action and opportunities for technological innovation.
