The Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the social and environmental impact of the fashion industry, is expanding into new areas such as home furnishings, sports and outdoor gear, and bags and luggage. We are expanding.
This expansion has also resulted in a rebranding of the federation, which now includes more than 300 retailers, brands, manufacturers, governments, academics, industry associations and NGOs, and 300 corporate members. These include Abercrombie & Fitch, Amazon, and Calfour.
The new name, Cascale, is a nod to the group's expansion ambitions as it expands beyond apparel into the consumer goods industry, which accounts for more than half of global carbon emissions. But it also follows a longstanding controversy surrounding the company's measurement tools, which have been criticized for allowing fast fashion brands to greenwash.
“Composite greenhouse” [gas] “Emissions from consumer products on the planet are about 60% of all emissions,” said Rick Ridgway, co-founder of Cascal and former vice president of sustainability and social engagement at Patagonia. he said. “If we can get the consumer goods industry to start significantly reducing these emissions, we will be successful, and that has always been our goal from the beginning.”
Higg's hiccup
Kascal's goal of bringing transparency to the apparel industry was hit by turmoil in 2022. Norway's consumer watchdog has said data from the company's Higg Materials Sustainability Index could be misleading if used to promote products as “trustworthy” through consumer labels. Because the verdict was passed.
A third-party investigation last fall confirmed the label's precarious position due to self-reported data, lack of common measurement, and missing impact categories.
The group immediately began addressing the issues outlined in the study, some of which were already included in its roadmap, but not all challenges have clear solutions. Cascale announced in November his Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) 4.0, a new tool aimed at improving data accuracy.
“Higg FEM 4.0 brings impactful and necessary changes, from improved data quality to alignment with relevant industry standards. We offer a wide range of benefits to reshape the way we make decisions,” said Jeremy Lardeaux, Vice President. At that time he was in Cascale's Higg Index.
future t-shirts
Despite these challenges, Cascale remains committed to the theory of change. By engaging key industry players, creating robust reporting metrics, and making them available to the public, “we can incentivize all players to reduce their environmental impact and increase their environmental impact year after year.” We can do it.’ Social justice,” Ridgway explained.
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