All About Product Impact Data

In an effort to increase transparency and consumer understanding of product impact, we have published LIVSN Product Impact Data, which can be found here. This data shows the impact of our products as it relates to global warming, eutrophication, water scarcity, resource depletion, and chemistry.

Before you take a look, it’s important to understand what all these numbers are that you’re looking at. LIVSN uses product impact modeling tools from Worldly (previously/also known as the HIGG Index) called the Material Sustainability Index (MSI) and Product Module (PM). Together, these tool allows us to do a lot of neat things and understand the impacts our products have, by creating models of materials and products, based on averages of how different factors affect the carbon footprint, chemical impact, etc. This is especially useful to smaller brands with fewer flexible resources to put into impact assessment.

Here’s the thing. These models are not perfect. They use imperfect math, to manipulate imperfect averages, to arrive at an imperfect but statistically sound prediction of product impact. Take for example our Flex Canvas Pant; the Worldly tool we use can do a lot of things, but it does not follow that actual material through its actual supply chain to measure its actual impact.

What the tool does know is the average impacts of the materials that go into Flex Canvas, and how changes in the process (recycled vs not, organic vs not, cutting efficiencies, etc) affect those impacts. It can also factor in averages of how customers use the product, how far it is transported, and for how long it is used, among a bunch of other things. This tool allows us to understand how the choices we have already made have changed our impact, and what choices we can make to further lower that impact.

Despite its imperfections we’re sharing this data with you for a few reasons. First, we find it really really interesting, and hope you all do as well. We also want to be transparent about the impact of the things we make, and the things you wear, and how LIVSN products get from us to you. This impact is a significant part of the true cost of what you buy, so we figured you ought to know about it.