What: The Norwegian Consumer Authority has found outerwear brand Norrøna’s use of data from the Higg Index to back up environmental claims is misleading to consumers and warned H&M Group against using the same type of marketing.

Why is it important: The decision comes amid mounting scrutiny of big fashion companies’ sustainability claims, as concerns about greenwashing attract greater regulatory interest. It also deals a blow to the Higg Index, a widely used suite of tools developed by trade group the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

Norrøna was among the first to use a consumer-facing product labelling tool introduced by the SAC last year, using data from the Higg Index’s materials module to show shoppers how a handful of its organic cotton T-shirts measured up on environmental factors like water use and global warming, compared to an equivalent T-shirt made from conventional cotton.

While Norway’s consumer watchdog only investigated Norrøna’s marketing, it also wrote to H&M Group warning the company to ensure it is not using the same kind of marketing by Sept. 1 or risk economic sanction. H&M is among the companies that have used Higg data in consumer marketing. Meanwhile, the SAC received a warning that it could be held responsible if its members use Higg data as a basis for environmental claims in their marketing.

The finding plays into an increasingly urgent debate over what “sustainable fashion” really means and how brands can back up any marketing. The SAC has sought to position the Higg Index as a suite of tools that can underpin such claims, but critics have argued the tools are not fit for use in marketing messages in line with the NCA’s decision.

H&M misleading sustainability claims