Indigo Handloom Joins the Sustainable Apparel Coalition!

Someone recently said "sustainability is like adolescent sex". There are lot of people talking about it, but very few actually doing it. And those who are doing it, are doing it badly since they have little experience or examples. I have to agree - sustainability as a concept is hard to pin down, but everyone wants to claim it because it just makes people feel better. Unfortunately it's late in the game to be guessing at this important concept.

Enter the 'Higg Index,' which I learned about at Sustainable Apparel Coalition's annual member's meeting in Vancouver this Spring. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) represents more than 50% of the global output of the apparel and footwear industries. Sitting in the room are titans of the industry - all cooperating and sharing best practices in an effort to reel in the monstrous underbelly of the fashion supply chain.

Sustainability can only truly be defined if it can be measured and for too long the world has been without a proper measuring stick. The Higg Index is an attempt to fix all of that with metrics. With this tool, everything from raw materials and the lifecycle of let's say a tennis shoe, can properly account for social and environmental impacts through a sustainability score. What's more, the Higg Index provides one common language that can be shared throughout the industry. The Higg Index encourages transparency and the accountability that this industry needs to build momentous -- and effectively measurable -- change.