Higg is a technology platform that helps consumer goods companies measure and improve the sustainability of their supply chain – with a unique full value chain approach across carbon, water, energy, social, and labor impacts.

Launched in 2019, Higg hosts a range of assessment methodologies, such as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg Index and the Apparel Impact Institute’s Carbon Leadership Program. Higg is trusted by global brands, retailers, and manufacturers to provide the comprehensive intelligence needed to move from impact insights to action.

Higg is trusted by major global brands, multi-vertical retailers, and manufacturers around the world. Over 50,000 users (representing tens of thousands of manufacturers and 500+ brands of all sizes) rely on Higg data to inform product and value chain decisions, and to exchange data with other stakeholders across their value chain.

Sustainability leaders need data they can trust to make lasting changes.Year-over-year data shows that Higg helps its customers transform their business’ global environmental and social footprints, and make measurable progress across metrics including emissions, water consumption, and working conditions. 

For example, since 2019, manufacturer environmental scores have improved nearly 20%; 12% more facilities have implemented energy use strategies in 2020, compared to 2018; and nearly half of users have shared their results with more than one value chain partner, effectively improving transparency within the value chain.

While we share a common mission, the SAC and Higg have been separate entities since 2019 – a non-profit coalition and a public benefit corporation respectively. The SAC is a strategic and valued partner of Higg. The Higg Index suite of tools (for which the SAC owns the Intellectual Property, Trademark, and continues to develop) remains a core offering on our software platform, and we remain its exclusive licensee.

Higg is the data partner for the Global Fashion Agenda, working with them to bring together disparate data sources from across the industry to provide a comparable, contextualized baseline of industry environmental and social performance, in an effort to accelerate progress towards climate and other impact reduction goals. Higg also partners with Product Lifecycle (PLM) companies and other organizations to scale the use of consistent data across the industry.

Much of the supply chain impact data we provide is collected directly from specific manufacturers about their operations, using ​​consistent, comparable industry frameworks. Data from these managed self-assessments can then be verified through third-parties. This combination of bottom-up primary data within top-down industry frameworks is an effective way to provide brands and retailers with accurate data specific to their sourcing and value chain.

For the Higg MSI (the publicly available database of verified and reviewed materials impact, for which the Sustainable Apparel Coalition owns the Intellectual Property and Trademark), the primary background database is Sphera: the industry accepted database which provides over 15,000 process datasets, and 1000 models from over 60 industry associations. The database is updated twice yearly to include any newly submitted data (which can be submitted by a materials manufacturer or a third-party). This data is reviewed by a large team, led by an independent 3rd party. Documentation explaining this review process is available through the SAC. 

As with all data, if producers refuse to provide datasets and LCA information, their scores will not be as accurate. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition and Higg invite all materials manufacturers to submit data to increase the quality and accuracy of insights to help businesses make more informed decisions.

Higg does not rank materials or make recommendations. ​​ Our goal is to provide the best available environmental and social data to our customers (including materials data), and we work with trusted partners and respected industry organizations to host methodologies for evaluating environmental impact – but we’re not a certifier nor does our software rank materials. 

Instead, the Higg MSI methodology displays a series of “scores” to express the relative magnitude of one material’s impacts in relation to those of a comparable material (for instance, comparing different fibers for a t-shirt, or potential materials for a coat). These scores are expressed in different units for different impact areas: for instance, global warming potential measured in kg of CO2 eq, eutrophication measured in PO4 eq, and water scarcity measured in m3 of water. 

It’s also important to note that brands and product designers do not use this data on its own, but rather within the context of a specific product. The Higg Product Module incorporates materials LCA data along with other inputs to model impacts for the full development, use, and end-of-use for a product, giving businesses an accurate picture of a product’s entire lifecycle. These product design tools are used by brands of all types and sizes to understand tradeoffs and benefits of alternative materials in their products. As a source of data, Higg will continue to provide the most scientifically proven datasets and methodologies, and encourage ongoing additions to the materials dataset.

While the scientific community knows that microplastics are harmful to the environment and human body, it is still a relatively new environmental concern.

Unfortunately, the science isn’t advanced enough within the LCA field to track the actual damages to the environment. To use an LCA to measure impact, there must be defined and agreed upon damage categories to measure.

Higg has engaged with multiple organizations and pays attention to the ongoing studies and will add data as soon as it’s scientifically proven and peer reviewed.

While Higg is best widely-used within the apparel and footwear industry, Higg also works in industries such as outdoor, home goods, automotive, personal care, electronics, and toys. Many customers have successfully used our solutions for performance management in other categories, and we are actively establishing partnerships across industries. We’re committed to evolving our solutions to help other verticals that have been asking for a proven framework for impact reduction.