It ain't fashion, if it ain't sustainable

Higg Index

Climate Action / Cascale Report

11 February 2026

4 minutes

The report concluded that achieving meaningful emissions reductions will require coordinated, structural action rather than incremental efficiency gains or shifts in sourcing geography.

Apparel, Footwear and Textiles Industry Remains Off Track on Energy Decarbonisation, Cascale Report Finds

Cascale’s State of the Industry Report 2026 assessed decarbonisation progress in the apparel, footwear and textiles industry using verified Higg FEM data from 2023 and 2024. The analysis showed emissions continued to rise, driven by energy use in manufacturing, with coal dependency, limited electrification and minimal renewable adoption constraining progress towards climate targets across major producing countries.

Staff Writer

Higg Index / Legislations

24 November 2023

2 minutes

SAC Releases Analysis of Higg Index Tools and Compliance Initiatives, Makes Available for Public

In a bid to map out the complex and rapidly evolving policy landscape and support members in their compliance work with their own legal and compliance teams, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) has released a Higg Index Tools Analysis and Compliance Initiatives Summary Report, and put it in the public domain.

Staff Writer

Under Cloud / Higg Review

27 September 2023

2 minutes

The Higg Material Sustainability Index (MSI) and Product Module (PM) are tools based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology.

Panel Suggests Integrating Higg MSI with Higg PM, Wants Warning Labels, Says Gaps Could Lead to Wrong Decisions

Management consultancy KPMG, which was tasked with reviewing the Higg Index suite of tools for the textiles and fashion industry, has recommended integrating the controversial Higg MSI with the Higg PM and focusing on enhancing data quality.

Staff Writer

Environment / Impacts

16 September 2023

3 minutes

A multitude of metrics, certification schemes and labels mark the environmental consequences of making and selling clothing.

Fashion Industry’s Environmental Impact Is Largely Unknown – Here’s Why

An acceptable definition for sustainable fashion, informed by standards and baselines, could empower consumers to make more informed decisions about their purchases. With Gen-Z labelled the sustainable generation, it is time for fashion to reform.

Alana James

Analysis

PRESS RELEASE / Announcement

14 July 2023

3 minutes

As an organization that is deeply committed to collaboration, the SAC’s goal is to catalyze industry collaboration, bringing together individuals and organizations from across the entire value chain to reach shared industry goals.

Sustainable Apparel Coalition Announces Return of Manufacturer Forums

San Francisco / Amsterdam / Hong Kong: The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), an impact-driven global convener of nearly half of the apparel, footwear, and textile industry, is pleased to announce the return of its Manufacturer Forums, a series of action-oriented events aimed at bringing together business leaders and stakeholders to learn how...

Branding / Worldly Launch

17 May 2023

4 minutes

Worldly is the exclusive licensee of the Higg Index, the sustainability impact measurement tools used by more apparel, footwear and textile brands than any other solution.

Higg Rebranded as Worldly, Ties Up with SGS, Streamlines ESG Regulatory Reporting

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition has rebranded its beleaguered sustainability intelligence platform Higg as Worldly and strengthened it further by tying up with certification company SGS to support industry’s need for validated data, and also come up with an industry-first solution to capture real-time data from factories across the supply chain.

Staff Writer

Under Cloud / Higg Review

12 January 2023

2 minutes

The H&M Sergel Torg store in Stockholm. Last year, the Norwegian Consumer Authority had hauled up H&M over claims made on basis of the Higg MSI.

Higg Index Review Report Expected in June, says Sustainable Apparel Coalition

The third-party expert review of the Higg MSI data and methodology, that came under fire last year, is expected this June, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) has announced.

Staff Writer

Under Cloud / Higg MSI

15 June 2022

7 minutes

Though allegations have been levelled at fashion giants, the SAC and the Higg Index find themselves in the eye of a storm for being the archangels of the 'sustainable fashion' ecosystem. The latter particularly has been under fire from critics for consistently downplaying natural fibres and instead promoting fossil fuel fashion (i.e polyster-driven fashion).

Back-to-Back News Reports Put Sustainability Archangels on the Back Foot

The Big Daddies in the textiles-apparel-footwear-fashion ecosystem are the hands behind some of the most followed sustainability benchmarks. The charge is that they have been using the cloak of opaqueness and secrecy and also the lack of credible data to greenwash themselves. texfash.com recaps the brouhaha.

Subir Ghosh

Commentary