The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) has announced that it will provide a guidance to its members, and also the wider industry, to ensure that all environmental claims are as robust as possible.
- The SAC announcement is in response to the Dutch and Norwegian consumer authorities earlier in the day issuing stringent guidelines on the usage of the controversial Higg MSI tool by clothing brands in making sustainability claims.
- The SAC will explore the guidance issued by the consumer authorities in the Netherlands and Norway with legal and topic experts to explore the feasibility of application while ensuring any resulting methodology and communications henceforth are in accordance with the wider European framework.
The Coalition's Comments:
- The SAC agreed on the need for environmental information shared with consumers from apparel and footwear brands to be credible, accurate and substantiated.
- Only by the industry working together with policymakers and regulators can the scale of the change that is needed be achieved, the SAC said in a statement.
- The SAC noted that the guidance document does not relate to any of the other Higg Index suite of tools, which continue to be used extensively by the apparel and footwear industry.
- It also noted that the guidance does not represent a formal legal framework or ruling and is not legally binding on the authorities or the SAC.
- The SAC emphasised on the need for harmonised regulations and clear, coordinated information on how information can be presented to consumers.
- The SAC has already commenced a "third-party" expert review of the Higg MSI to further evaluate and develop the tool.
- The Coalition is also doubling down on its efforts on critical data collection from across the material industries.
