◦ Product tools:

1. Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI): "the apparel industry's most trusted tool to accurately measure the environmental sustainability impacts of materials," by scoring materials based on their environmental impact from fiber to fabric across five environmental impact parameters (global warming, water pollution, water scarcity, resource depletion, and chemicals) (see Figure 5 for a sample screenshot of the Higg MSI interface)

Sustainability Initiatives in the Fashion Industry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87062

#### Figure 4.

impact of certain materials or processes and therefore help steer decisions accordingly.

For companies in the fashion industry to become more cognizant and proactive about minimizing the environmental impact of their product life cycles, they would need to rely on a definitive benchmarks and tools to gauge the environmental impact of their decisions regarding product or processes. However, measuring environmental impact of such decisions can be very convoluted, as results tend to be conflicting depending on which angle it is viewed from. Here are some examples

• A polyester shirt has more than double the carbon footprint of a cotton shirt

• The processing for cotton produces a water footprint 20 times larger than that

• One kilogram of cotton—equivalent to the weight of a shirt and pair of jeans—

• For an organic cotton tote to make up for the environmental impact (water use, energy use, etc.) of a classic plastic bag, it would need to be used 20,000

The following is an outline of three established benchmarks and tools, designed to enable the fashion industry (and other industries), to measure the environmental impact of certain decisions regarding their material use or processes employed:

It is described as "a suite of tools" that enables the measure and score of a company or product's "sustainability performance" at "every stage in their sustainability journey," aiming to provide a "holistic overview" that "empowers businesses to make meaningful improvements that protect the well-being of factory workers, local communities, and the environment"

1. Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI): "the apparel industry's most trusted tool to accurately measure the environmental sustainability impacts of materials," by scoring materials based on their environmental impact from fiber to fabric across five environmental impact parameters (global warming, water pollution, water scarcity, resource depletion, and chemicals) (see Figure 5 for a sample screenshot of the

can take as much as 10,000–20,000 liters of water to produce [10].

• Higg Index, developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition:

[13]. It encompasses the following tools:

Higg MSI interface)

The following section will explore some of these tools and benchmarks.

Fashion Industry - An Itinerary Between Feelings and Technology

of the conflicting nature of environmental impact measures:

(5.5 kg CO2 emissions vs. 2.1 kg CO2 emissions) [11].

fashion industry

On the one hand, for example:

of polyester (see Figure 4).

But on the other hand:

times [12].

◦ Product tools:

8

4. Measuring environmental impact: benchmark and tools for the

Water footprint for the total processing phase of each fiber type for the UK (m3) in 2016. Source: Waste and resources action programme [14].


#### Figure 5.

Sample screenshots of the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) tool. Source: Sustainable apparel coalition [13].

