SAN FRANCISCO – Cascale, the global nonprofit alliance for the consumer goods industry, has announced a significant expansion of the Higg Material Sustainability Index (Higg MSI). With the release of its v3.13 update, the organization has integrated more than 20 new material options into the tool, aiming to provide fashion and apparel brands with more precise data for their sustainability decision-making processes.
The Higg MSI serves as a critical industry benchmark, allowing designers and product developers to compare the environmental impacts of different materials—such as cotton, polyester, and leather—based on factors including global warming potential, water scarcity, and chemical use. By incorporating these 20 additional entries, Cascale is broadening the library of available fibers and processing methods, which the organization states is essential for ensuring that the tool remains representative of current market offerings.
Joël Mertens, director of environmental impact methodologies at Cascale, highlighted the importance of this update in the context of an evolving manufacturing landscape. “Expanding the range of materials represented in the Higg MSI is an important step toward providing the industry with more comprehensive and relevant environmental impact data,” Mertens said in a statement. “As brands increasingly look to transition toward lower-impact materials, they require a robust and up-to-date data foundation to support those choices.”
This update arrives as Cascale prepares for a more fundamental shift in its technical infrastructure. The organization has confirmed that it is working toward a comprehensive change to the tool’s underlying background database, which is currently scheduled for 2027. The current update acts as a bridge, ensuring that the MSI remains functional and reflective of new material innovations while the organization undergoes the multi-year process of auditing and updating its foundational data sources.
The data within the Higg MSI is frequently scrutinized, as it directly influences how global brands communicate their sustainability claims to consumers and investors. By adding these 20 materials, Cascale intends to reduce the reliance on “proxy” data—where companies use similar material scores when specific data for a newer or more niche fabric is missing. Increasing the specificity of the MSI is widely viewed by industry analysts as a necessary step to reduce “greenwashing” risks, as it allows companies to account for the unique processing stages and supply chain realities of specific textiles.
The inclusion of these new materials follows ongoing pressure from regulators and advocacy groups for greater transparency in supply chain impact assessments. As legislative bodies in the European Union and North America move toward stricter reporting requirements for environmental performance, the precision of tools like the Higg MSI has taken on heightened regulatory importance. Cascale’s commitment to updating its database is part of a broader effort to standardize how environmental impact is quantified across the global apparel, footwear, and textile sectors.
While the new v3.13 materials are now available to users, the industry remains focused on the 2027 transition. A complete overhaul of the background database is expected to incorporate more advanced life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, aiming to capture more granular data regarding energy grids, recycled content, and regenerative agricultural practices.
Cascale, formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, continues to position the Higg MSI as a primary tool for “data-driven” sustainability. The organization intends to hold further consultations with industry stakeholders throughout the next two years to ensure that the 2027 update aligns with global environmental standards and provides the necessary transparency required by both businesses and regulators. For brands currently using the MSI to guide their material sourcing strategies, the v3.13 update provides an immediate opportunity to refine their environmental assessments ahead of the more significant technological shifts expected in the coming years.
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