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‘Vegan Leather’: How Fashion Giants Reshaped Plastic for Good for People


Index evaluates polyester as one of the most sustainable fabrics in the world; for example, using data on European polyester production provided by a plastics industry group, even though most of the world’s polyester is produced in Asia, often using a more polluted power grid and less under. strict environmental rules. The Higg rating for elastane, also known as lycra or spandex, is based on research by Invista, the world’s largest producer of spandex and a subsidiary of Koch Industries.

The Higg Index itself was born a decade or so ago amid a growing emphasis among consumers on sustainability, environmental and animal welfare concerns. This has coincided with developments in synthetic-based fabrics that are not only inexpensive but also have new properties that buyers desire, such as improved elasticity or improvements in perspiration wicking ability.

Most of the apparel brands that sit on the board of directors of the group that oversees the index are leveraging two fashion megatrends that directly benefit from developments in synthetics like this one: fast fashion and athletics. Fast fashion giant H&M, for example, is showcasing what it calls Higg-based. sustainability profiles with some of their products.

“The members of the Higg, many of them fast fashion brands, and all of them predominantly use polyester. This is why he supports polyester getting a better rating,” said Brett Mathews, editor-in-chief of Apparel Insider, a London-based industry-focused publication. But the data used was “too weak,” he said, adding that “the net result is that the actual Higg score saying this fiber is more sustainable than that is misleading to consumers.”

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition said the company data is accurate and comprehensive and has been collected in accordance with industry standards. Any gap between European and Chinese polyester production will be small compared to other differences in textile production, such as the knitting or weaving process.

H&M, which sits on the coalition board, said the index is based on “standardized and verified third-party information” and that the tool is “continuously developed and improved”. Walmart said Higg isn’t the only tool it uses to improve the sustainability of its clothing, and it continues to evaluate the index’s capabilities. Invista did not respond to a request for comment.



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