Preferred Fiber & Materials Matrix

Together with partners, Textile Exchange is proud to announce the Beta of the Preferred Fiber and Material Matrix, an interactive resource for assessing the impacts of different materials, sustainability certification, and initiatives.

 

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

Click for more information

  • This tool is intended to compare fiber programs within their own material category rather than across material types.
  • It is NOT intended for marketing claims
  • Toggle between the material categories to view specific programs.
  • Each impact area can be selected to view a set of associated indicators, which vary by material category.
  • The indicators combine to provide a score performance banding for each impact area.
  • The overall score performance banding for each program is a weighted average of the impact areas based off of a materiality assessment for that material category.
  • All programs are assessed on a 100pt scale and divided across 5 levels from 0-4. As such, each program will have unique characteristics associated with its performance, and programs within each level are not exact equivalent.
  • For more information about the tool click here

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 3.1. 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