What is Higg Index

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.  

The Index currently considers only environmental quality impacts - but the Coalition plans to include labor and other social impacts in future versions (as well as expanding the product categories to include footwear). 

For now, considered metrics include water use and quality, energy use and emissions, and raw waste and hazardous wastes. Data, for now, appears to be provided by companies themselves. 

---