Norwegian Consumer Authority finds Norrøna's use of Higg MSI data in organic cotton marketing misleading and prohibited (2022)
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
In a letter of 14 June 2022 the Norwegian Consumer Authority concluded that Norrøna's use of Higg MSI data to market the environmental benefits of organic cotton t-shirts was misleading and prohibited, and asked Norrøna to change or remove it by 14 August 2022. On 27 June 2022 the Sustainable Apparel Coalition said it was pausing consumer-facing use of Higg data.
Use of Higg MSI data in marketing organic cotton t-shirts found misleading and prohibited; Norrøna asked to change or remove the marketing by 14 August 2022. No penalty is stated.
Status As of 27 June 2022: NCA letter of 14 June 2022 on record; the Sustainable Apparel Coalition has suspended consumer-facing use of Higg MSI data; the sources reviewed do not report what followed the 14 August 2022 deadline.
What happened
On 14 June 2022 the Norwegian Consumer Authority (NCA, Forbrukertilsynet) wrote to Norrøna Sport AS (case nr 21/14987-26) that the company's use of Higg Materials Sustainability Index (Higg MSI) data on norrona.com to communicate the environmental benefits of organic cotton t-shirts was misleading to consumers and thus prohibited under sections 6 and 7 of the Marketing Control Act. The marketing showed four impact categories (global warming, fossil fuels, water consumption and water pollution) in which the organic cotton t-shirt was said to reduce environmental impact compared with a conventional cotton t-shirt. The NCA wrote that the documentation provided "does not constitute sufficient evidence for the reductions in environmental impact communicated about a specific product through the Higg MSI" and that Norrøna's claim "is likely to be false and untruthful for the products in question". Its main reasons were that the Higg MSI rests on global average numbers rather than data from the specific product, that some of the underlying data are scientifically outdated, and that the index does not take into account all relevant ways in which products affect the environment. The NCA asked Norrøna to change or remove the marketing by 14 August 2022. The letter follows an NCA request of 14 February 2022 for documentation, Norrøna's reply of 18 March 2022 and a meeting with Norrøna and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the owner of the Higg MSI, on 5 May 2022.
Ecotextile News reported on 17 June 2022 that Norrøna had defended its use of Higg MSI data to help consumers choose garments based on their environmental impact. On 27 June 2022 Ecotextile News and FashionUnited reported that the SAC was suspending, globally, the use of Higg MSI data on consumer-facing product labels; FashionUnited quoted SAC chief executive Amina Razvi saying the SAC would carry out a third-party review of the Higg MSI data and methodology, which was last evaluated in 2016.
- 202214 February: NCA asks Norrøna for the documentation behind its use of the Higg MSI; 18 March: Norrøna provides documentation; 5 May: meeting between the NCA, Norrøna and the SAC
- 202214 June: NCA concludes in a letter to Norrøna (case nr 21/14987-26) that its use of Higg MSI data in organic cotton marketing is misleading and prohibited
- 202227 June: the Sustainable Apparel Coalition says it is suspending consumer-facing use of Higg MSI data globally
What was said
“The documentation we have been provided with does not constitute sufficient evidence for the reductions in environmental impact communicated about a specific product through the Higg MSI.”
How it looked
Shown
- Reductions in environmental impact for an organic cotton t-shirt, compared with a conventional cotton t-shirt, shown in four impact categories using Higg MSI data on norrona.com.Norrøna, as described by the Norwegian Consumer Authority · Norwegian Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet), letter to Norrøna Sport AS, case nr 21/14987-26
Recorded
- The NCA concluded that Norrøna's marketing, using data from the Higg MSI, is misleading to consumers and thus prohibited (Marketing Control Act section 6, cf. section 7), and asked Norrøna to change or remove it by 14 August 2022.
- The Sustainable Apparel Coalition suspended, globally, the use of Higg MSI data on consumer-facing product labels (27 June 2022).
In nature's name
What was measured
The letter concerns the evidence for a marketing claim. No independent measurement of an environmental benefit from Norrøna's organic cotton is on record in the sources reviewed.
Findings on record
- Court or regulator ruling Norwegian Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet) (2022-06-14) · Case nr 21/14987-26, letter to Norrøna Sport AS: “is likely to be false and untruthful for the products in question” Norwegian Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet), letter to Norrøna Sport AS, case nr 21/14987-26
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- norrona (2022-06-17): Defended its use of Higg MSI data to help consumers choose garments based on their environmental impact (Ecotextile News, 17 June 2022; only the opening paragraphs were available). · Ecotextile News (opening paragraphs only; the rest is behind a subscription)
- sustainable-apparel-coalition (2022-06-27): Said it takes the NCA's notification extremely seriously, would carry out a third-party review of the Higg MSI data and methodology and would pause consumer-facing use of Higg scores (as reported by FashionUnited). · FashionUnited
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2022-06-14Claimant wonNorwegian Consumer Authority letter to Norrøna on Higg MSI marketing (case nr 21/14987-26)Norwegian Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet) · Administrative · Norwegian Consumer Authority → Norrøna
The NCA concluded that the use of Higg MSI data in marketing organic cotton t-shirts was misleading and prohibited under the Marketing Control Act and asked Norrøna to change or remove it by 14 August 2022. No penalty amount is stated. Norwegian Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet), letter to Norrøna Sport AS, case nr 21/14987-26
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record Norrøna's own response to the NCA's letter: the sources reviewed give only that it defended its use of the data (Ecotextile News, 17 June 2022; the rest of the article is behind a subscription).
- None on record The sources reviewed state no penalty.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether Norrøna changed or removed the marketing by 14 August 2022.
Did the harm stop?
Not established in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
No payment is recorded in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Government and regulators
- Misleading marketing towards consumers using Higg MSI dataNorwegian Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet), letter to Norrøna Sport AS, case nr 21/14987-26 · 2022-06-14
Press and investigations
- SAC suspends Higg data use on product labelsEcotextile News · 2022-06-27
- Sustainable Apparel Coalition to pause consumer facing transparency programme following NCA reportFashionUnited · 2022-06-27
- Norrøna defends 'illegal' use of Higg dataEcotextile News (opening paragraphs only; the rest is behind a subscription) · 2022-06-17