Preferred Fiber & Material Matrix

    The Preferred Fiber and Material Matrix is an interactive tool intended for standards systems to view their performance across impact areas in a standardized way and toward a shared “direction of travel”, as well for brands to inform and guide material sourcing decisions. According to the EU Commission, it is estimated that over 80% of all product-related environmental impacts are determined during the design phase; therefore, sourcing decisions are critical in reducing environmental impact.  

Programs are assessed along a continuum of risk mitigation and best practice.

Banding

Baseline

Conventional production, without verifiable improvements. Status Quo.

Foundational

Some initiative, mostly focused on risk mitigation, harm reduction, and accessible improvements.

Improved

Either comprehensive harm reduction and or demonstrable positive impact in select areas, but not yet all.

Progressive

Maximizing positive impact in most areas, excelling in some, but not yet all.

Transformational

Regenerative, circular and holistic attention to all areas of impact.

Information Available

No Information Available

Best-in-class performance

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  • The PFMM is designed to look at standards systems within a material category, not across different material categories. 
  • It is not intended for marketing claims. 
  • You can select an impact area such as “climate” to see the relevant indicators and the description of a standard system’s performance in that area. The indicators combine to provide a level score for each impact area. 
  • All standards systems in the tool are assessed on a 100point scale and divided across 5 levels from 0-4. This means that each standards system has unique characteristics associated with its performance, and standards systems within each level are not exact equivalents. 

We are in the process of updating the Preferred Fiber and Materials Matrix. Please come back to this site on September 18 to see the latest version of the tool!

Disclaimer:

Potential environmental savings (impacts) associated with the use of preferred renewable or recycled raw materials are based on Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) version 3.5. These calculations include only fiber-level impacts, and exclude impacts from finished material manufacturing. For the calculation of full material and product manufacturing and life cycles, please visit Higg.org