One Path, Two Tools: Advancing Circularity with C2C Certified® and Higg Index
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII) actively recognizes key industry standards and frameworks to support the implementation of the C2C Certified® Product Standard while minimizing audit duplication. This article highlights the synergies between C2C Certified® and the Higg Index Modules, offering clarity on how these tools can complement one another in practice.
Transitioning to a circular economy requires open, innovative, and widespread collaboration across industries and sectors. That’s why C2CPII engages in strategic partnerships and collaborative initiatives that empower businesses with the solutions and knowledge needed to transform the way products are designed and made.
Recognizing widely adopted standards is essential to reducing audit fatigue and accelerating progress. In the textile sector, C2CPII acknowledges several leading standards and certifications including the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), ZDHC and OEKO-TEX®.
The next logical step was to initiate an alignment assessment with the Higg Index to explore areas of synergy and complementarity.
The C2C Certified® product standard
The standard C2C Certified® is used globally by future-focused designers, brands, retailers and manufacturers to make healthy, circular, and equitable materials and products that are made for cycling. Across the value chain, the standard is used to innovate and optimize materials and products according to the world’s most advanced science-based measures for material health, product circularity, clean air & climate protection, water and soil stewardship, and social fairness.
Companies may use 3 certification options based on the standard:
C2C Certified® Full Scope (All sections of the standard)
C2C Certified® Circularity (Section 5, Product Circularity including chemical and packaging requirements)
C2C Certified® Material Health (Section 4, Material Health)
After a thorough third-party assessment, a product(group) gets rewarded by one of the four achievement levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum.
The Higg index, used by suppliers, brands and retailers worldwide to capture their companies’ or products’ impacts, can be used as an important data source to the C2C Certified impact categories.
The Higg Index
The Higg Index is a suite of five tools that assess and measure the social and environmental performance of the consumer goods value chain and the environmental impacts of products. The tools help organizations drivee systematic change by identifying, understanding, and measuring areas of improvement. They are organized into three categories: Higg Product Tools (which include the Higg Product Module (Higg PM) and Higg Materials Sustainability Index (Higg MSI)); Higg Facility Tools (the Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM) and Higg Facility Social and Labor Module (Higg FSLM)); and the Higg Brand and Retailer Tool (Higg BRM).
The standardized measurement framework has become the most widely used set of tools within the apparel and consumer goods industries. Worldly is the exclusive licensee of the Higg Index. The tools are hosted on Worldly’s platform.
How to work with the Higg Modules for C2C Certified?
The Higg Facility Tools and BRM are company assessments, focusing on data at company and facility-level. Data captured in these tools can support compliance with the company-level requirements in C2C Certified assessments. This includes, for example, the chapters General requirements and Social Fairness, but also facility-based requirements of Clean Air & Climate Protection and Water & Soil Stewardship. Data in the Facility Environmental Module, Facility Social & Labor Module and Brand & Retail Module is collected through self-assessments but can be verified by independent third parties. Verified data demonstrating compliance with the C2C requirements can be used without additional verification when verified by a qualified third party.
The Higg Product Tools (MSI and PM) contain product-level data. Material and product data captured in these tools could be used to support compliance with the product-level requirements of C2C Certified assessments. Not all data in the Higg Product Tools is primary data; secondary data from LCA databases is also used to fill in primary data gaps. As C2C Certified assessments require primary data, information obtained from the Higg MSI and PM must be used with care.
The overview below summarizes the assessment level of the C2C Certified chapters and the Higg Index tools. It provides the foundation for the detailed sections attached.
For a detailed breakdown, please refer to the detailed table outlining the C2C Certified® requirements across the six impact categories. The table indicates for each requirement whether the Higg Index Tools capture relevant information for the C2C Certified assessment.
Conclusion
With this alignment assessment, we take an important next step in supporting companies on their journey toward circularity. By identifying synergies between tools they already use - such as the Higg Index and C2C Certified® - we aim to reduce complexity, streamline reporting efforts, and empower organizations to make more informed, impactful decisions. This work reinforces our commitment to enabling practical, scalable solutions for sustainable product development.
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About Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute is a global non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the circular economy by setting the global standard for materials, products and systems that positively impact people and the planet. Across the value chain, Cradle to Cradle Certified® is used to innovate and optimize materials and products according to the world’s most advanced science-based measures for material health, product circularity, clean air & climate protection, water & soil stewardship, and social fairness. Today, it is possible to reshape the way we design and make things, using innovation as a driver of change.
Contact: Nienke Steen, Director Apparel, Textiles & Footwear
[email protected]| www.c2ccertified.org
About Cascale
Cascale unites over 300 brands and retailers, manufacturers and suppliers, governments, academic institutions, and nonprofit members across the consumer goods industry to Combat Climate Change and Support Decent Work for All. Our data-driven approach is powered by the Higg Index Tools, exclusively available on Worldly and accessed by 40,000 users worldwide, to scale focused initiatives that deliver measurable progress – including an industry-wide 45% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Guidance, trainings, and office hours for the tools are provided by Cascale and Worldly through How to Higg.
Contact: [email protected]
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