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SAC geared up for 2020 vision
W
we need to make a stronger global
commitment to this.”
ith the aim of improving the
social and environmental
impacts of apparel manufacturing
around the world, the Sustainable
Apparel Coalition (SAC) hosted
its annual full-member meeting
in Bangalore, which included
2017 SAC Manufacturing Forum
and representatives (over 40 per
cent) from the global apparel
industry market. SAC is an
industry wide group of more than
200 leading apparels, footwear and
home textiles, brands, retailers,
suppliers, and service providers,
working to reduce the environmental
and social influences of products
around the world. The meeting
expanded opportunities for dialogue
among attendees against the
backdrop of a nation that leads the
globe in the sourcing of apparel
and textiles.
“For sustainability professionals,
our work has become more urgent,”
said Jason Kibbey, CEO, SAC,
in response to the US withdrawal
from the Paris Agreement,
adding, “I’m more committed than
ever towards SAC’s work.” The
meeting highlighted that India
as a producing country faces
incredible resource constraints
but at the same time, it also has a
rapidly emerging middle-class which
dictates the consumption patterns
of tomorrow. The future is coming
very fast for India and what happens
here will be a strong indicator of
this future for both people and
the country.
Talking about The Higg Index,
the core driver of the SAC, Kibbey
shared, “Through The Higg Index,
we’re trying to make sustainability
easier and much more scalable for
the apparel and footwear supply
chain. Our goal is to make tools
that add value and make companies
better for the manufacturers.” He
16 Apparel Online India |
Jason Kibbey, CEO, SAC
Members of SAC
in Indian Textile &
Apparel Industry
• Aditya Birla Group
• Pratibha Syntex
• Arvind Limited
• KG Denim
• Eastman Exports
Global Clothing
further stated that implementing The
Higg Index grants transparency to
brands, retailers and manufacturers.
Mutual benefits, including fewer
audits, emerge for the entire supply
chain. At SAC, striving toward
increased transparency is a priority.
Kibbey also urged the industry,
during the meeting, to align on
standardization through the use
of The Higg Index. “In future, I
envision that instead of focus on
assessments, there will be focus
on impact,” he emphasized, and
added, “There will be support for
Higg as a common language and the
framework we use today. Instead of
noise around transparency, we will
have clarity. Now, more than ever,
JULY 16-31, 2017 | www.apparelresources.com
Referring to SAC’s futuristic vision
for 2020, it was specified in the
meeting that SAC’s next three
years will be spent on shaping the
application of sustainability for the
entire apparel and footwear industry
by 2020 and beyond. Its goals include
creating unprecedented business
value and sustainability impact,
letting consumers choose products
based on trusted sustainability
information, developing Higg as
a harmonized industry standard,
achieving transparency in the value
chain and having SAC as a leading
platform for change. Nevertheless, it
was also highlighted that reaching
this goal is like climbing a mountain.
However, Kibbey optimistically
shared, “We’ve now been climbing
to this ‘future’ for a few years,
and while it may seem like we’re
still getting started at the top of
the mountain, our 2020 vision is
within reach. If we stop climbing,
we risk being stuck in a perennial
CSR purgatory, always making a
good effort but with insufficient
tangible positive environmental and
social impact.”
Kibbey also envisioned that in
future, while there will be more and
more apps, labelling programmes
and Government transparency
requirements, there will not be any
common language. Transparency
will be everywhere, yet clarity
and reliability will be nowhere.
Therefore, he believed that instead
of approving new versions of The
Higg, efforts to achieve perfection
would lead to unnecessary delays
and a loss of confidence. A worried
Kibbey stated, “The Industry and
its stakeholders would not come
together with a common point of
view towards the Government.
We would not stand up for one