Textile Exchange’s Preferred Fiber and Materials Matrix (PFMM) has been published and assesses the performance of different sustainability standards within material categories, across 80 qualitive and quantitative indicators.
Standards systems are assessed across core impact areas, including Climate, Water, Chemicals, Land, Resource Use and Waste, Biodiversity, Human Rights, Animal Welfare, and Initiative Integrity, which measures the robustness and governance of a given standard system.
The PFMM allows owners of standards systems a way to view their performance in a standardized way and toward a shared “direction of travel” for beneficial impact, while also helping brands to make informed material sourcing decisions. According to the EU Commission, it is estimated that over 80% of all product-related environmental impacts are determined during the design phase, making material choices critical in reducing environmental impact.
