Cotton Council International (CCI) announces that it has joined the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and will use the group’s sustainability measurement suite of tools, the Higg Index, to drive environmental and social responsibility throughout its supply chain.
With its membership in the SAC, CCI joins more than 250 global brands, retailers, and manufacturers, as well as government, non-profit environmental organizations, and academic institutions, which are collectively committed to improving supply chain sustainability in the apparel, footwear, and textile industry.
The U.S. cotton industry is committed to continual improvement in sustainability and continues to build upon the strong environmental gains already achieved over the past 35 years.
“We are pleased to be joining the SAC, confident that together we can scale positive impact on product sustainability over time,” said Steph Thiers-Ratcliffe, CCI Director of European Brands and Retailers. “With shared ambition in providing robust environmental data to the sector, we will collaborate to enable greater supply chain transparency and informed decision making.”
In its relationship with the SAC, CCI will contribute both data and resources to support the Higg Index, which measures sustainability performance and drives supply chain transparency and decision-making to improve efficiency and sustainability impact. The Higg Index is an indicator-based suite of tools that enables suppliers, manufacturers, brands, and retailers to evaluate materials, products, facilities, and processes based on environmental performance, social labor practices, and product design choices.
“We welcome the addition of CCI to the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and look forward to its participation in this industry-wide effort in sustainability,” SAC Executive Director Amina Razvi said. “Having CCI as part of the Coalition widens the scope of our impact within the industry and accelerates the change we’re making towards responsible industry actions.”
Companies or organizations that are not currently members of the SAC and are interested in accessing the Higg suite of tools, may inquire at https://apparelcoalition.org/join-us/.
About Cotton Council International:
Cotton Council International (CCI) is a non-profit trade association that promotes U.S. cotton fiber and manufactured cotton products around the globe with our COTTON USA™ Mark. Our reach extends to more than 50 countries through 20 offices around the world. With more than 60 years of experience, CCI’s mission is to make U.S. cotton the preferred fiber for mills/manufacturers, brands/retailers and consumers, commanding a value-added premium that delivers profitability across the U.S. cotton industry and drives export growth of fiber, yarn and other cotton products. For more information, visit www.cottonusa.org.
About the Sustainable Apparel Coalition: The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) is an industry-wide group of more than 250 leading apparel, footwear, and textile, brands, retailers, suppliers, service providers, trade associations, nonprofits/NGOs, and academic institutions working to reduce the environmental and social impacts of products around the world. Through multi-stakeholder engagement, the SAC seeks to lead the industry toward a shared vision of sustainability built upon a common approach for measuring and evaluating apparel, footwear, and textile product sustainability performance that spotlights priorities for action and opportunities for technological innovation. The SAC was incorporated as a 501c(6) nonprofit organization and launched the groundbreaking Higg Index suite of tools in 2011. For more information, visit apparelcoalition.org.