How Fashion Giants Recast Plastic as Good for the Planet

The material is soft. It's vegetarian. It resembles leather.

Fossil fuels are also used to make it.

An explosion in the use of inexpensive, petroleum-based materials has transformed the fashion industry, aided by the successful rebrand of synthetic materials like plastic leather into hip alternatives like vegan leather.

The environmental impact of fabrics and materials has been assessed using a rating system. The Higg index is a ratings system used by some of the world's largest fashion brands and retailers to measure and reduce their environmental footprints by cutting down on the water used to produce the clothes and shoes they sell.

Synthetic materials made from fossil fuels are favored by the Higg index. Independent experts as well as representatives from natural-fiber industries say that the Higg Index is being used to portray the increasing use of synthetics use as eco-friendly despite questions over their environmental toll.

Veronica Bates Kassatly, a fashion industry analyst and critic of the industry's sustainable claims, said that the index is justifying the choices fashion companies are making. They said that you can still shop until you drop.

H&M and Nike are among almost 150 brands that make up the index run by the sustainable apparel coalition.

Jeremy Lardeau is the vice president of the Higg Index at the apparel coalition. The synthetic numbers are not being pushed for to be low. The data is being collected in one place.

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Some of the data underpinning the index came from research funded by the synthetics industry that hasn't been fully opened up to independent examination, according to critics. Questions about their broad, industry-wide applicability are raised when other studies are incorporated into the Higg index.

Most of the world's polyester is made in Asia, which uses a dirtier energy grid and less stringent environmental rules, but the index rates it as one of the world's most sustainable fabrics. The Higg rating for elastane, also known as Lycra or spandex, is based on a study by the world's largest elastane producer.

A decade or so ago, the Higg Index was born as a result of a rising emphasis on sustainable living. Synthetic-based fabrics were inexpensive and had new features that buyers wanted, such as improved elasticity or the ability to repel perspiration.

Many of the garment brands that sit on the board of the group that oversees the index profit from two fashion megatrends that benefited from advances in synthetics like these are also on the board. H&M displays Higg-basedsustainability profiles alongside some of its products.

A lot of the members ofgg are fast fashion brands. It favors them to get a better rating, according to the chief editor of Apparel Insider. The data used was poor, and the actual Higg score, which says this fiber is more sustainable than that, is misleading to consumers.

The data was collected in line with industry standards according to the coalition. If there was a gap between European and Chinese production, it would be small.

H&M said the index was based on standard and verified third party information and that the tool was being continually developed and improved. Walmart said that the Higg was not the only tool it used to improve thesustainability of its apparel. Invista did not reply.

The Higg index is going to become a global standard. In New York, a bill seeks to hold fashion brands accountable for their role in climate change, while policymakers in Europe lay out rules on how brands must back up their claims. The Higg index could be used as a benchmark.

The fashion industry has to address the environmental effects of its products. According to the United Nations, the industry is responsible for 8 to 10 percent of the world's emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide.

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Cotton has its own environmental costs. Cotton and silk can be used with pesticides. Leather can come from well- managed ranches or it can be tied to activities that are harmful to the environment. An investigation by the New York Times last year showed how leather from cattle that have been cut down in the Amazon was making its way to the US for use in car seats.

According to the Textile Exchange, the production ofPolyester and other materials has tripled in the last decade. Cotton has risen more moderately than silk and wool.

According to producers of natural fibers, the shift has been portrayed as positive by the Higg index. Silk has an unfavorable rating in the index because of a study by Oxford-based researchers of 100 silk farmers who rely on irrigation in one state.

The lead researcher said he didn't know until recently that his work had been used. The study of Indian silk was not representative of global production. They wouldn't know it was a stretch to use the results of the article to assess silk in general.

The International Sericulture Commission, which represents 21 silk- producing countries, filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission accusing the Higg ratings of creating considerable damage to the natural fiber industry.

Silk is worse than synthetic products, they say. Dileep Kumar of the International Culture Commission asked if anyone could really believe that.

In 2020, leather-industry groups from around the world called on the sustainable apparel coalition to suspend its poor score for leather, which they said was based on out-of-date, inaccurate and incomplete data.

Industry officials say that the rise of vegan leather, which is made from a type of plastic that has a more favorable Higg rating, has brought consequences. The hides from those slaughtered cattle have nowhere to go because Americans are still eating lots of beef. According to the U.S. Hide, Skin and Leather Association, 15 percent of all hides were thrown away in 2020.

Ron Meek, a former meat processor who has been helping smaller plants weather the downturn in leather demand, said that hides are being thrown out back.

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The sole representative of an environment group on the board resigned due to the lack of progress on environmental and climate policies.

Their approach has been kept under wraps. The former board member said that the system was not transparent. The next exciting thing is almost as if it is a fashion show, the season's latest, in this industry.

The apparel coalition said it is helping companies to make more sustainable choices within fabrics and to come up with specific product based scores that take into account factory practices and other variables. Additional data from natural fiber industries is welcome.

Some experts question whether the Higg accurately reflects other factors, such as emissions of planet-warming methane from the fossil fuels that plastics are derived from, the amount of non-biodegradable plastic that ends up in landfills or incinerators, or the microplastics shed by fabrics that have now

Once better data is available, the apparel coalition wants to include this issue.

It's difficult to rely on studies with different parameters. According to a report by the Research Institute of Sweden, differences between producers could be much bigger than differences between fiber types.

Sangwon Suh is a life-cycle assessment expert at the University of California. It's hard to generalize. Is the cotton rain-fed or not? Is the production of synthetic materials in countries with strict rules?

It's difficult for consumers to generalize about whether natural or synthetic materials are more eco-friendly than clothing brands claim. One way to reduce environmental impact is to buy fewer pieces.

The public is able to see the Higg scores, but only companies that pay a fee are allowed to see the underlying data.

A fee can be paid to submit new data to the coalition.

Last year, for example, the Higg index said it had updated the rating for leather from the world's largest meatpacker and one of the companies that the Times investigation last year found was source of cows linked to Amazon destruction. Among the world's most sustainable leather is produced by JBS.

The apparel coalition's "misleading analyses" on leather were corrected by a new study. The company said it would contribute to elevate the quality of technical information available on leather.

Gregory Norris, who teaches life-cycle assessment at the Harvard School of Public Health, said that many of the critics' concerns were valid. He said the index was a very valuable body of work. He said that they dug in and built something with the data.

There were still improvements that could be made. Independent spot checks can be used to verify industry data. He said that there is a data scarcity problem.