The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and Hong Kong-based garment firm TAL Group have decided to introduce the Higg Index in the country’s textile and garment industry at a meeting in Hanoi. The aim is to build a sustainable brand for Vietnamese textiles.
Higg is an online self-assessment tool that standardises measures for environmental and social impacts in the textile, footwear and fashion industries. It is a standard sustainable report tool used globally by more than 8,000 manufacturers and 150 brands. Nearly 70 per cent of the businesses in Vietnam are familiar with the Higg Index, but only 20.8 per cent of them have tried it, a preliminary survey of more than 200 enterprises revealed, according to a report. According to SAC CEO Jason Kibbey, Higg is a necessary benchmark as enterprises buying raw materials for production and selling products to the United States and the EU countries needed the index.
