Cascale, formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, launched an update to its Higg Materials Sustainability Index that taps into a new cotton life cycle assessment methodology to improve accuracy and consistency in determining the environmental impact of the fiber. The new methodology is designed to give brands reliable data to make more informed sourcing and sustainability decisions.
The Higg Index calculates environmental impact from the extraction or production of raw materials, continuing through the manufacturing and finishing process, on to packaging and assembling into a final product. Over the past three years, Cascale has worked with a team of stakeholders such as CottonConnect, Cotton Incorporated, Better Cotton and Cotton Research and Development Corporation to create a cotton-specific methodology model, following LCA principles.
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“One of the challenges, especially for agricultural materials, is how to ensure consistency of the data,” said Joël Mertens, director of Higg product tools at Cascale. “This new methodology helps with that by creating clear expectations to cotton programs of what data is required and how it will be modeled into results.”
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Mertens said that those clearer expectations will allow brands to more efficiently collect and evaluate data from farmers.
“In the past, the Higg Materials Sustainability Index contributor process could take a long time because brands would present data and then realize they needed additional data,” he said. “When we’re talking about cotton farmers, your program might have thousands or even millions of cotton farmers. Going back and forth to ask for more data isn’t going to be very easy.”
Mertens said the new tool also helps account for the inconsistencies in agriculture due to weather, pests and other issues by collecting data continuously to give a more accurate picture of a brand’s environmental impact.
“There are improvements happening over time, but you also recognize that this isn’t going to be a linear journey,” he said. “By providing more continuous updates, it helps brands understand the context of why data is changing.”
For instance, if a brand sees a bump in water use, the data can explain how drought or supplemental irrigation requirements can cause that blip.
“You can see there’s been a five-year drought or whatever the issue might be, and that will explain that shift in water usage,” Mertens said. “So this tool helps contextualize these conversations in a way that wasn’t fully possible before.”
The update to the Higg Index comes two years after a pause of use of the consumer-facing impact product rating due to greenwashing claims. Since then, Cascale has worked to restore confidence in the index, and this update plays a role in that push.
Coinciding with the Higg Index update, Cascale announced a partnership with supply chain transparency nonprofit Open Supply Hub. The collaboration will allow Cascale’s industry partners to access the Open Supply Hub platform to produce open, accessible data that allows brands to make more responsible business decisions in relation to sustainability and social responsibility.
“Our members are hungry for change, and this comes with amplifying the existing tools, best practices and resources that allow them to collaborate effectively and, ultimately, lead to greater improvements for the industry,” said Colin Browne, chief executive officer of Cascale. “We applaud the work Open Supply Hub has done thus far, and we are committed to working together to advance the disclosure of Tier 1 suppliers on Open Supply Hub. This data-driven initiative is a significant step forward in meeting the growing expectations for transparency and responsible business practices.”