Higg Index

The Higg Index actually bundles several separate tools rather than a single score: the Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) rates raw materials from 0 to 100 — lower is better — across water scarcity, global warming potential, and eutrophication, while the Facility Environmental Module and Facility Social & Labor Module audit individual mills and factories. It was developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition starting in 2011; that group renamed itself Cascale in 2023, though the tool names stuck.

This is what's behind the impact numbers you'll see cited on a big blank brand's sustainability page — Higg Index data comparing a recycled-polyester tee's score against a virgin-polyester one, for instance — and it's become the default vocabulary major mills use when they talk to each other about material impact, even when the brand-facing marketing never names the tool.

Treat MSI scores as a comparison tool between materials, not a verdict on an entire finished garment — the score covers the raw material stage, not dyeing, finishing, or the factory that cut and sewed it, so pair it with a facility-level audit for the full picture.

The common error is treating a favorable score as an independent sustainability certification a brand earned. It's a self-reported measurement framework, not third-party certification like GOTS or bluesign, and in 2022 the tool drew public scrutiny for scoring synthetic fibers more favorably than the underlying environmental research supported, which pushed the coalition to pause consumer-facing MSI labeling while it revised the methodology.