About the Pilot Tests:

The SAC's Footwear and Social/Labor working groups have been hard at work to develop scope-expanding content for the next release of The Higg Index. Both groups developed rich content over the last two years, and this Fall members and stakeholders will test the modules on real products and processes. 

We welcome you or any organization working in or around the footwear and apparel industry to pilot test the Social/Labor and/or Footwear indicators with us in the next several months. 

Purpose of Pilot: The “pilot test” refers to the process of using the Higg Index tool for Footwear and/or Social/Labor for a set period within your organization and across your supply chain. The intent of the pilot test is for users to provide robust feedback on the Social/Labor and Footwear indicators, in order to improve the content for final release in the next version of the Higg Index.  

You have two choices for this pilot. You can do one or the other, or both: 

• Footwear: The Footwear pilot test will assess environmental performance of footwear products. The facilities module is very similar to the apparel-specific Higg Index 1.0.
• Social/Labor: The Social/Labor pilot test will assess social/labor policies and practices for both apparel and footwear organizations. 

Benefits to You and Your Organization:

• Identify early risks and opportunities within your organization and supply chain
• Drive content and scoring development of the footwear assessment
• Learn from with Footwear Working Group and fellow piloters

Benefits for the SAC Higg Index: 

1. Prove a concept is workable in a real “work” environment.  Up until the pilot, there has been conceptual review but minimal “real world” testing and limited involvement from supply chain partners.
2. A successful pilot will clearly demonstrate the value (or the potential value assuming modifications are made) of the Higg Index, engage and excite internal and external partners, and provide useful and comprehensive feedback covering a range of perspectives (company size, brands/retailers/suppliers, geographies, index modules, product categories, etc.)
3. The pilot test feedback will highlight where we may have “gaps” in the content, and we may request volunteers to close those gaps to ensure comprehensive testing.
4. Personal tie to organization to participate...

Who is Invited: Any brand, retailer, vendor, or facility interested in testing out the content on their company/supply chain/products. You do not have to be a SAC member to participate. 

Not a footwear or apparel company? We also warmly welcome NGOs, academic institutions, and government agencies to review our content, scoring and structure. All we ask is that you provide feedback to help us improve! 

When: The pilot test period will run for three months; organizations should develop personal timelines internally. 

• Footwear: December 2012 (Facility Module) and January 2013 (Brand and Product Modules) through March 31, 2013
• Social/Labor: November 2012 through February 28, 2013

How: During this three month period, you will gather data on a limited number of real products/facilities, review that data and learn from it, for the purpose of assessing and improving the prototype and informing the full implementation of the next iteration of the Higg Index. 

Similar to our previous Index “review” periods, we will be seeking your feedback on both pilot tests across many dimensions including content, scoring, process/implementation, training/support needs, and business value delivered.

Expectations: By participating, you commit to testing out and providing feedback on several modules for Social/Labor (Brand, Facility) and/or Footwear (Brand, Product, Facility). The purpose is to collect your feedback on content, scoring, and structure to improve the indicators for final release next year. We hope you will join us!

• Footwear: Participation, at a minimum, involves providing feedback on two or more products (using the Brand and Product modules) or testing two or more supplier facilities (using the Facility module). This will enable members to see and learn from the comparative data across products and suppliers. If you would prefer, you may pilot test one product and one facility.
• Social/Labor: For Brands/Suppliers, minimum participation involves providing feedback on your company (using the Brand Module), and two or more facilities in your supply chain (using the Facility Module).
• Feedback: SAC is also piloting a web-based tool for the first time with a limited number of user logins. For this reason, we ask that anyone requesting access to the pilots fully commit to providing robust feedback on scoring, structure, content, and feasibility of the new Indexes. 

How to Participate? If you're interested in participating, please contact cameron@apparelcoalition.org. 

SAC staff will contact you with next steps and additional information. SAC will provide live training and full support throughout this process. 

To review the detailed pilot test process, download our Pilot Playbook (PDF). 

Still Have Questions? Please contact cameron@apparelcoalition.org with any questions related to the pilot tests.