SAN FRANCISCO: The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), representing more than a third of the global apparel and footwear market, has released an online version of the Higg Index, a  measurement tool for the industry's supply chain.

The Higg Index was introduced in 2012 to better measure the comprehensive environmental and social impacts of apparel and footwear products, and since then has allowed more than 100 companies to identify opportunities to reduce impacts and improve long-term sustainability.

"We are very excited to share this new version of the Higg Index with our members. Not only have we expanded the Index to be more comprehensive, but we've also added a new level of engagement where our members can interact and share knowledge and assessments on a level that hasn't been done before, and speed the adoption of sustainable measures within the value chain," said Sustainable Apparel Coalition executive director Jason Kibbey.

" We understand that successfully addressing sustainability requires a new form of collaboration, and the [new index] facilitates the engagement process. For the first time ever, users can interact through our platform and share sustainability information with each other in a very quick and simple way. With this new tool, we have the leverage to reach the tens of thousands of organizations in the supply chain who may not even know what sustainability is," added Kibbey.

The SAC is a trade association comprised of brands, retailers, manufacturers, government, NGOs and academia to address current social and environmental challenges. Manufacturers include: