SAC ‘doubling down’ on data collection
The non-profit organisation behind the Higg Sustainable Materials Index, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), has issued a formal response to the publication of new guidelines from the consumer authorities in Norway and the Netherlands on companies’ use of the index in marketing claims.
It said it welcomed “productive discussions” it has had with the consumer authorities and shared their desire for consumers to receive “credible, accurate and substantiated” information from apparel and footwear brands.
In its response, it also pointed out that the guidance “does not represent a formal legal framework or ruling and is not legally binding” and does not relate to any of the other Higg Index suite of tools, only to the MSI.
It said it had already begun a third-party expert review of the Higg MSI and was “doubling down on our efforts on critical data collection from across the material industries”.
“Our ambition is to provide guidance for our members, and the wider industry, to ensure all environmental claims are as robust as possible,” the SAC said.
