Higg Index is a sustainability tool and a foundational benchmark in the fashion industry aimed at assessing the environmental and social impacts of clothing and footwear products. It allows businesses to evaluate various aspects within the realm of environmental and product design choices, such as material types, products, production facilities, and manufacturing processes.

Higg Index is introduced by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), an industry group whose members collectively represent over a third of the global clothing and footwear market. It's an inclusive and widely supported sustainability tool adopted by numerous brands. Brands can either use factory self-assessment results or follow up on specific areas of concern.

Higg Index measures environmental sustainability and social/labor performance through an evaluation of production practices and a range of qualitative and quantitative criteria, driving the implementation of improvement measures.

The general process for Higg FEM verification can be outlined as follows:

Factories complete a self-assessment form and then post it within the Higg assessment system, making it available to customers.

Factories must undergo Higg FEM factory verification by a second party, external third party, or the customer. This form of Higg assessment involves several additional steps, although some are common to the previous scenario:

2.1. Higg system registration: This step is the same, starting with logging into the Higg system and completing registration.

2.2. Module purchase: Initially, companies need to purchase the FEM self-assessment module and, as described in2.3, complete the self-assessment. Furthermore, they need to acquire the FEM verification assessment module, known as VFEM module, without which verification cannot take place. Therefore, factories incur two separate costs – one for the FEM module and another for the VFEM module.

 2.3. Completion of the Higg FEM verification self-assessment form: This step is consistent. Factories complete the FE

Verification process

1、 CS provides feedback on factory inquiries

1. Send the Higg application form to the factory and request it to be returned.
2. Confirm MD and validation fees based on MD guidance documents and application forms.
3. Confirm the validation date and request the factory to sign a validation confirmation letter, confirming that the factory will prepare FEM and EIA reports (environmental impact assessment reports), EIA approvals (environmental impact assessment approvals), EPCA (environmental protection acceptance reports for construction project completion), emission permits, and hazardous waste disposal contracts to ETKO at least one week before on-site validation. If the factory has not uploaded the self-assessment module.

2、 Factory preparation (confirmed by CS colleagues)

1. The factory purchased FEM and vFEM modules
2. The factory selects ETKO for validation.
3. After filling out the FEM in the factory, share and submit the FEM to ETKO
4. The factory provides the auditor with an EIA report, EIA approval form, EPCA, emission permit, and hazardous waste disposal contract to ETKO, and provides them to the verifier.

3、 ETKO will assign validation to validators (FEM account administrators) as follows:

When the verification personnel receive a reservation from CS colleagues, if they find that the factory was verified by themselves last year, please provide feedback to CS. If the schedule cannot be changed, verification should be done through link registration verification

https://www.sumerra.com/programs/sac/sac-fem-verification-program/fem-repeat-request/

The designated validation team leader should send the validation plan to CS at least two days before on-site validation, and CS will send the plan and document list to the factory contact person via email.

On site verification

1. First meeting:

a) The verifier introduces themselves, asks and understands the names and job/roles of facility team members (such as facility management representatives, environmental managers)

b) Clarify the scope of validation

c) Explain the purpose of validation and the client's objectives

d) Emphasize the Higg index as the starting point for participation and understanding. It encourages continuous improvement, promotes

cooperation and transparency. The Higg index is not a review, pass/fail assessment, or process based environmental lifecycle assessment

e) Communicate with the factory team and emphasize the integrity policy, and submit the institution to the validator's professional code of

conduct, explaining the independence of the evaluation team, the necessity of openness and transparency, and how to handle conflicts

f) Communicate with the factory team to verify the agenda/plan

g) Ask for permission to take photos and reach an agreement on logistical issues

h) Explain to employees that there are no management personnel present. All conversations with employees are strictly confidential, and all

verification results are confidential

i) Answer any questions that factory members may have.

2. Verification

a) During the validation process, the validator must communicate with factory employees to validate the FEM. Traders or consultants can participate in the verification as observers;
b) During the verification process, the verifier should inform the factory of which self-evaluation data is inaccurate, but should not inform the factory that the relevant data does not meet regulatory or customer requirements. The verifier should not suggest what the factory should do;
c) Please follow the Higg FEM How to Higg Guide 2022 to verify vFEM (https:/howtohigg. org).
d) Communicate with management to obtain basic information about the factory
e) If necessary, require the preparation of personal protective equipment for on-site visits
f) On site observation: workshops, warehouses, chemical warehouses, chemical storage areas, power plants, sewage treatment facilities, other environmental facilities, on-site water/electricity/gas/steam instruments
g) Policies, procedures, permits, certificates, emergency plans, and other documents
h) Review quantitative indicators such as annual electricity consumption, water consumption, liquefied natural gas consumption, and gasoline consumption based on records and bills provided by the factory
i) The on-site verification is accompanied by non factory personnel such as traders or training units, mainly through communication with factory personnel to collect verification information, verify the accuracy of data filling and the actual environmental management ability of the factory.
j) During on-site verification and communication, the verification personnel cannot say 'what should the factory do'. The verifier mainly determines the accuracy of the FEM data filled in. If the factory requires a solution to the problem, the validator can provide examples for the factory's reference.

3. Last meeting

a. The verifier should emphasize the verification results again and not use "passed" or "failed".
b. Summarize the entire validation and best practices.
c. The validation factory has different opinions on the entire validation process and results.
d. Answer any questions that factory members may have.
e. Based on the results of verification and communication with the factory, list 3-5 inaccurate or unresponsive items for PIP introduction. (See PIP template).
f. Thank you to the facility team for their support and assistance.

4. Review and submit

a. The validator should submit evidence for each issue in the FEM for review within 5 working days after the last meeting. All evidence for each issue should be numbered and packaged, and uploaded to the public drive under the project name. After uploading the package, the validator should notify the reviewer via email.
b. The reviewer should review and provide feedback to the reviewer within 5 working days after the email notification.
c. The validator should submit the validation module within 1 working day after receiving the review conclusion.