The Higg Index may be the most popular sustainability tool in fashion.
But after Norway’s Consumer Authority dealt a blow to the Sustainable Clothing Coalition’s inaugural consumer transparency program last month (powered by the Higg Material Sustainability Index), the future of sustainability labeling for clothes became more uncertain .
Big brands and retailers like H&M, Amazon, C&A and more have signed up to the startup program by either displaying the seal or product scorecard, some going so far as to list it on their product pages. But once media pressure mounted after Norway’s unfavorable view, SAC made the decision to ban the program for all. A spokesperson from Amazon confirmed that the Higg Index Materials seal had been removed from its e-commerce sites, while C&A confirmed its inclusion in the sustainability program despite setbacks.
Reality check for industry transparency
Fashion is no stranger to sustainability hurdles, and trade groups like SAC are quick to respond to controversy.
“If we really take a step back, what’s important for SAC and for our members is to understand how we reliably communicate this type of information to consumers so that they have reliable data and reliable to make more informed decisions.” Sustainable Clothing Coalition chief executive Amina Razvi told WWD. “While I think we’re all probably a little disappointed in the hiatus, we recognize that it’s important to do this to help us evolve the program and the tools and really understand where the fix is going.”
As an industry powerhouse with its membership boasting combined revenues of more than $750 billion, SAC is in the game.
“SAC is an actor, isn’t it, we are an actor in this wider ecosystem to drive change. And we’ve essentially developed over the last 12 years tools that we believe are a useful part of driving change across the industry,” Razvi said. “But we fully recognize that we’re not the only system out there, and we’re not the only multi-stakeholder initiative. And what we don’t want to do, and this has been kind of core and central to SAC from the beginning, is we don’t want to duplicate efforts.”
Razvi said SAC’s methods are “constantly evolving” which is a consistent response to growing criticism about tools like the Higg MSI.
As of June 21 (just days after the NCA news), Higg emailed a survey to better understand user needs around compliance and sustainability, offering the chance to win one of two $500 Visa gift cards to data. In bold, “Reliable Persistence Data” appears to the right of the Higg logo on the survey page. As part of SAC’s broader steps toward remediation, it plans to conduct a third-party review of the Higg MSI.
Razvi assured that, “Other tools in the Higg Index toolset are [continuing] to use and deploy and MSI can continue to be used as a valuable b-to-b tool… I think that’s a really important distinction because what we’re talking about is how you translate information and environmental impacts when it comes to consumers, not how the tools are used from a business perspective. We see this as an opportunity because we believe in consumer-facing transparency as a lever for change. This is an opportunity to really work with stakeholders, regulators and critics about how the industry does this in a clear, consistent and credible way.”
What it means for circular politics
While SAC tools are always evolving, so is the policy.
Dr. Kerry Senior, director at Leather UK, a trade advocacy group for the sector, weighed in on both topics as the group has been one of many (as well as the International Council of Tanners, the Leather & Hide Council of America, and the International Sericultural Commission, among others) challenging the methodology of the tools.
Although Leather UK is not a paying member of the Higg Index and does not have access to its full dataset, Senior along with the International Council of Tanners, led discussions with SAC to encourage the use of the new leather data. He said the groups presented the nonprofit with new U.S. data on the economic distribution of cattle, claiming Higg would provide a disclosure on its platform saying its hide data is “outdated” while it seemed to refresh the inputs. Higg has said it aims to update the data twice a year to include new and updated data representations that reflect the best information available.
This data refresh never happened, and Senior believes “with the revelations about Norway [Consumer Authority]that door [for updated leather data] now it’s locked down tight…At the moment it’s not something they want to progress.”
SAC still plays an important role in assisting the technical secretariat at the European Commission, helping to shape regional fashion policy.
Service life – or the life expectancy of fashion and footwear – is included in the EU strategy. In the EU’s draft proposal for its environmental product footprint, clothing and footwear are divided into 13 categories and average wear data, with four categories for footwear and nine for clothing. In draft, the given lifespan of a boot is 100 wears, for example, while open-toed shoes (like flip-flops) are 50 wears. The difference is that a hiking boot with a lifetime warranty and a fast-fashion boot meant for nights out may have the same wear value, meaning consumers may mistakenly assume the products last longer than they will. or prematurely discard well-made products, again driving consumption.. Senior claimed it was a “completely artificial result” because it does not accurately represent the life cycle of footwear and clothing. The draft proposal was prepared by data firm Quantis Zürich, with SAC as coordinator of the technical secretariat and H&M, Inditex, Nike and Lacoste among the brand feedback providers.
In an effort to provide better data, Leather UK is working with the Shoe and Trainers Research Association on the issue of service life.
“I think that speaks to the whole philosophy of Higg,” Senior said, “They try to make a system that covers everything and it doesn’t work. It never will.”
