Missed Opportunities: Fashion Fabric Sourcing Professionals’ Use of the MSI in the Higg Index

This qualitative study examines the disconnect between the intentions of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition's (SAC) use of the Higg suite of tools and the actual use by designers, product developers, and sourcing professionals that work within the fashion industry to combat contributions to climate change. Sustainability and the progress towards a circular economy are paramount in an industry beleaguered by a take–make–waste set of practices with diminishing economic returns. The Higg Index, particularly the Higg Material Sustainability Index (MSI), are meant to help fashion professionals make better choices. Designers and sourcing agents play vital roles in strategic progress toward sustainable initiatives. The Higg Index suite of tools are the most comprehensive metric framework enabling fact-based decisions within the complex global supply and value chain of fashion products. Yet, if fashion professionals are unable to fully understand or utilize the information provided by the MSI, the efforts of the SAC are wasted. Twenty-two fashion professionals in a variety of roles answered open-ended questions regarding their use of the MSI. Discussions were focused on how, and in what way, they used the MSI and if this information was used in sustainably focused initiatives or company priorities. While the SAC has a mandate to create more rigorous Life Cycle Assessment capabilities as well as provide more accountability, scrutiny, and transparency regarding reported information, many professional users are lost in a sea of specialized knowledge. The goal of this research is to highlight improvements in and changes needed for the Higg Index for designers and sourcing departments that may not have the dedicated time, knowledge, or capabilities to understand this developed information.