SAN FRANCISCO – The Sustainable Apparel Collation (SAC) has announced a raft of Higg Index manufacturing forums ahead of its 2020 Global Member Meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Bangkok 16-18 June.
First up is the Higg Index Manufacturer Forum, which is due to be held in Bangalore, India, on Tuesday 18 February. Topics to be covered at this one-day event include environmental and social labour modules which have been jointly developed by the SAC and Higg Co. to support value chain stakeholders in understanding their performance in the specified areas. Regional training to support facilities in scaling adoption of these models will form part of further discussions.
The event is geared towards announcing the latest trends, information updates, and idea exchange for Higg Index users, supply chain specialists and service providers.
Later in the month, the roadshow moves on to Istanbul for another one-day showcase on Thursday 27 February. This edition which will introduce Higg facility modules to manufacturers, brands and retailers in the apparel, footwear and textile industry. The purpose of the one-day event is to train members and users on the Higg facility modules and provide best practices and insights. Topics to be addressed include an introduction of the tools that support value chain stakeholders in measuring and understanding their sustainability performance. Furthermore, the functionalities of the Higg.org platform which includes industry benchmarking. Regional trainings will again be provided by approved trainers to support facilities in scaling the adoption of the modules.
Moving on to 16 – 17 March, the SAC members in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region are invited to attend a two-day event in Amsterdam, which is intended to prepare SAC members for the Higg Brand & Retail Module prior to its release on 31 March 2020.
Objectives here are to provide an overview of the Higg BRM structure with a scoring and section-by-section overview. Attendees can also share recommendations and best practices on how to get started with the module and will be introduced to key resources that will support companies in completing the module. The event also promises to provide group exercises on key topics to exchange best practices and insights with industry players.
A further manufacturing forum, which targets apparel and textile manufacturers, brands and retailers who would like to start capturing their environmental and/or social/labour performance using the Higg facility modules, is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 7 April in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Content for the one-day show in Jarkarta includes an introduction to Higg Facility environmental and social and labour modules (Higg FEM and FSLM), which were developed by SAC and Higg Co to support value chain stakeholders in understanding their environmental and social and labour performance.
Further elements of the show include Higg FEM Level 1 content and the functionality of the platform; industry benchmarking of Higg FEM and Higg FSLM, regional training by approved trainers to support facilities in scaling the adoption of the modules; and best practices shared by various SAC brands and manufacturers members.
“We’ve been taking small steps towards more sustainable practices over the last decade,” Amina Razvi told us in the latest print issue of Ecotextile News, “but time is running out and we need to course correct and rapidly move our industry forward.
“The good news is that the apparel and footwear industry is positioned to both lead and implement solutions that protect people and the planet at a global scale. The first step is committing to measurement and transparency, and that’s where the Sustainable Apparel Collation comes in; companies should be leveraging global standards like the Higg Indext to measure their value chain impacts and understand where they currently perform.”
The SAC Global Member meeting is also planned for 16 – 18 June, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Given the ongoing situation regarding the Coronavirus outbreak in China, Ecotextile News will liaise directly with the SAC to bring you regular updates on event scheduling as well as any foreseeable issues with travel to any of the above events.
