Higg Index 2.0 Adds Web Interface, Improves Environmental Content

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), whose member including Adidas, Burberry, Coca-Cola and Levi’s represent more than a third of the global apparel and footwear market, has launched an updated version of the Higg Index, a sustainability measurement tool for the industry's supply chain.

The Higg Index 2.0, now available for industry review and use, brings the Index to an online platform developed by Schneider Electric, adding the ability to share users’ sustainability data, increase accuracy and add measurability for new materials and processes. The SAC says this ability to share information between the entire supply chain marks a first for sustainability measurement.

For the first time the Index addresses footwear by adding a footwear brand module and allowing for footwear facility assessment within the facility module. Additionally, the new version considers chemical impacts.

Added and improved content in the Higg Index 2.0 includes:

• The Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) web tool, an apparel and footwear materials list released in June and since expanded to include sustainability metrics on 45 materials.
• Content from the Chemicals Management Module, which was co-created through a joint working group between the Outdoor Industry Association and the SAC.
• New social and labor modules, currently in the beta content phase with plans to expand in future iterations of the Higg Index.