Norrøna, the four-season Norwegian outdoor brand known for its sustainably built premium outerwear, announces that it is the first outdoor industry brand to embed the Higg Index Sustainability Profile and the Higg Index Materials Seal on its e-commerce platform using a standardized scorecard. Developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), of which Norrøna is an active member, the Higg Index was created to serve as a suite of tools that enables brands, retailers, and facilities of all sizes and at every stage in their sustainability journey to accurately measure and score a company’s or product’s sustainability performance.
The first stage of the Higg Index program will focus on the environmental impact of a product’s materials. Over the next two years, manufacturing and corporate responsibility metrics will be integrated into the scorecard to provide consumers with the full spectrum of metrics for making sustainability focused purchasing decisions. In its capacity as an active SAC member involved in the development of several Higg tools, Norrøna was one of the first members to have third party verification of it Brand & Retail Module last year and now launched the new transparency program on its website. Norrøna will provide critical feedback to help evolve the tools, so they remain as relevant, accurate and credible as possible. The Higg Index will be a major benchmark and standardization for social and environmental scoring of products and transparent communication of those results.
“The Higg Index’s greatest impact is for the consumer, regardless of the size of the company. Being a family-owned brand with a storied history of building technical and sustainably minded products, Norrøna wants to set an example of how the Higg Index can be scaled from the largest companies to smaller locally owned businesses,” says director of innovation and sustainability at Norrøna, Brad Boren. “Since our beginnings, Norrøna has prioritized designing technical apparel that is also sustainable. With the Higg Index scorecard, it is our ambition to prioritize giving consumers transparent as possible environmental and social impact data of our products on a standardized industry scale so they can be confident in making purchasing decisions.”
The Higg Index is comprised of a set of five core tools that together assess the social and environmental performance of the value chain and the environmental impacts of products.
- Materials Sustainability Index measures and scores the environmental impacts of materials, helping sustainability analysts and product developers understand the environmental impact of their production decisions and create products that are more sustainable.
- Product Module measures the overall environmental impacts of a product from the time it’s designed through the end of its life when a consumer stops using it, including measuring global warming potential, nutrient pollution in water, water scarcity, fossil fuel depletion and chemistry.
- Facility Environmental Module measures the environmental performance of an individual facility, helping manufacturers identify and prioritize opportunities for improvement.
- Facility Social & Labor Module allows facilities to assess the social and labor conditions for their workers, helping ensure they’re creating safe and fair working conditions.
- Brand & Retail Module offers companies a comprehensive way to assess and communicate their annual social and environmental performance at the corporate level.
“Measuring the social and environmental performance of the value chain and the environmental impacts of products is crucial for better decision making in line with a sustainable future. And, just as important, is transparent and efficient communication with consumers,” says U.S. sales manager Adam Chamberlain. “Now more than ever, consumer purchasing decisions are based not only on price, quality and aesthetics. The environmental impact of a product has significant influence over consumers decisions, as they want to align with brands who reflect their personal sustainability values. Norrøna believes in a sustainable and environmentally conscious future, wants to help consumers make the best choices that support their values and the Higg Index is a powerful step in that direction.”
For more information on the Higg Index and Norrona’s plans for a sustainable future, please visit www.norrona.com or contact rob.steffens@rygr.us. Retail buyers should direct wholesale inquiries to Adam Chamberlain at adam.chamberlain@norrona.no.
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About Norrøna: In 1929, Jørgen Jørgensen, a Norwegian outdoor enthusiast, set norrøna’s bearing: to search for the best in technical advancements, to create the ultimate in performance product. Today, four generations later, norrøna is still a privately-held and family-operated company based in Oslo, Norway, seeking to redefine the meaning of fit, function and finish in sustainably sourced and built technical outerwear. www.norrona.com
