What is the Higg Index in fashion?
The Higg Index is a suite of tools developed by Cascale, formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, for measuring the environmental and social performance of facilities, brands and products.
In short
The Higg Index is a set of standardised sustainability assessment tools for the apparel, footwear and consumer goods industry, owned and developed by Cascale, the alliance formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. It lets factories, brands and retailers measure environmental and social performance in a common format.
How does it work in practice?
Organisations complete self-assessments, which can then be verified by approved third parties. Results are shared with business partners through Worldly, the platform on which the Higg Index tools are exclusively available.
- Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM): measures factory performance on water, waste, chemicals and energy.
- Higg Facility Social and Labour Module (FSLM): assesses labour practices at facilities.
- Brand and Retail Module (BRM): assesses the practices of brands and retailers.
Cascale updates the tools regularly; the 2025 FEM update focused on sharper emission metrics and enhanced verification.
Why does it matter for fashion businesses?
A shared format reduces audit and questionnaire fatigue, because one facility assessment can be shared with many brands. Brands use the data to compare suppliers, set improvement targets and build Scope 3 and reporting datasets. For manufacturers, a verified module is often expected by larger customers.
How is AI changing it?
AI can combine Higg data with production volumes, utility bills and other supplier information to identify the facilities where improvements matter most. It can also detect inconsistencies between self-assessments and verified results, and help suppliers prepare answers from existing documents.
Common pitfalls
Facility scores describe sites, not individual products, so they should not be turned into consumer claims without further evidence. Self-assessed data without verification and outdated assessments also weaken conclusions. Brands should agree with suppliers which modules and verification levels they expect, so factories do not face duplicate requests.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the Higg Index?
The Higg Index is owned and developed by Cascale, the global alliance formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. The tools are available exclusively through the Worldly platform.
What is the Higg FEM?
The Higg Facility Environmental Module assesses a manufacturing facility's environmental performance across areas such as water, waste, chemicals and energy use.