Higg index

The Higg Index 1.0 (released 26.06.12) represented the first phase of the development of an indicator-based tool for apparel to enable companies to evaluate a range of environmental and product design choices. Based on the apparel life cycle, the index began... 

As awareness and scientific understanding of the environmental and social issues facing the ATs industry has expanded, stakeholders within the apparel industry have developed various tools and indices for measuring different aspects of sustainability within the supply chain. Two of the first leading tools were the Outdoor Industry Association s Eco Index (OIA, 2014) and Nike s Apparel Environmental Design Tool (Nike, 2010), both of which evolved into the Sustainable Apparel Coalition s (SAC) Higg Index. 

Currently, the purpose of the Higg Index is to guide the decision making of brands and manufacturers on an internal basis. In other words, it is a tool used by companies to self-assess their environmental and social performance, identify areas of strength and weakness, and opportunities for improvement. Future plans of the SAC for the Higg Index include development of a methodology to use the Index to communicate to consumers and other public stakeholders the social and environmental impacts of apparel product manufacturing, distribution, consumption, and disposal. 

For more information on the SAC and the Higg Index, visit the CoaUtion s website at http //www.apparelcoalition.org/. Although the web platform of the Higg Index is only available to manufacturers and apparel brands, content of the Higg Index is open and available free to the public in Excel by registering and downloading the Index through the SAC website. 

In early 2012, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, an association of over 60 apparel and footwear brands, retailers and suppliers, and non-profit organizations, released the Higg Index 1.0 for Sustainable Apparel. 

An expansion of the Eco Index (an internal self-assessment tool created by the outdoor apparel industry) and Nike s Apparel Environmental Design Tool, the Higg Index aims to aggregate information on the environmental performance of products from major apparel brands. The Index considers performance across the full life-cycle of a product, including impacts fi om input materials, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, use, and end-of-life. ... 

According to its creators, the Higg Index is meant to be both a self-assessment tool for producers to identify their own weaknesses and opportunities for improvement and, eventually, to be a starting point of engagement, education, and collaboration among stakeholders. ... 

According to the Coalition, the Higg Index was designed with four key goals in mind. 

Nowadays there are two of the hottest trends now among CSR executives are supply chains and collaboration among companies on sustainability. The latest example for these two comes from the apparel industry, where the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), a trade association representing more than a third of the global apparel and footwear market, unveiled the Higg Index, a new tool for sustainabihty measurement across the industry value chain. 

The Higg Index is basically a tool enabling apparel companies to better measure the comprehensive enviromnental and social impacts of their products. The idea is that through use of the index companies can identify opportunities to reduce impacts and improve long-term sustainability throughout their supply chain. 

The focus of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition is the Higg Index that measures the environmental performance of apparel products. Future versions will include footwear products and measure social performance. 

Development, piloting and broad adoption of the Higg Index, a tool for measuring the environmental and social performance of apparel products. 

Based on the Outdoor Industry Association s Eco Index and Nike s Apparel Enviromnental Design Tool, the Higg Index provides a comprehensive... 

Because the Higg Index is an industry - rather than consumer-facing system, much of the machinery will remain behind the seenes. Still, consumers can only benefit from any improved business practices as a result of the tool s implementation, Kibbey tells us. 

The Higg Index 1.0 is a tool to help organizations standardize how they measure and evaluate environmental performance of apparel products across the supply chain at the brand, product and facility levels. It is ... 

The Higg Index 1.0 was developed for apparel products and environmental performance however, future releases of the Higg Index will expand the scope to include footwear products and social and labor impact areas. 

The Higg Index 1.0 is based on life-cycle thinking and spans the apparel life cycle (materials, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, use, and end-of-life). 

Retail activities are not included in The Higg Index 1.0 and will be considered for future releases. 

Scope SAC is eurrently developing indicators that will increase the scope of the Higg Index to inelude ... 

Verification of responses SAC is considering developing a Higg Index verification proeess/protocol. 

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