The Open Apparel Registry (OAR) has launched new development to expand standardised supply chain disclosure in the apparel sector. Now brands are able to fulfil Transparency Pledge requirements through the platform.
OAR is a free, open data tool mapping garment facilities worldwide and allocating a unique ID to each.
Data in the OAR is contributed and used by organisations all over the world, including major global brands, civil society organisations, multi-stakeholder initiatives, certification schemes, factory groups and more.
In a statement, OAR informed that following months of consultation with industry experts and stakeholders, the OAR has launched its biggest development since creating the platform: all users now have the option to contribute and search by a new set of facility data points in the tool.
These data points include number of workers, parent company, type of product, type of facility and type of processing.
Organisations which are contributing some or all of these additional data points for the launch of this development include brands like Another Tomorrow, Antigua, C&A, Columbia Sportswear Company, Mountain Equipment Company (MEC), Ralph Lauren Corporation, Rapha and Ted Baker Plc.
This development enables brands to meet the disclosure requirements of both the Transparency Pledge and the Fair Labor Association (FLA) through the OAR, as well as ensuring these disclosures are open and standardised, facilitating more efficient and effective collaboration.
In turn, building on the existing search capabilities of the platform, this development enables users to filter data searches specifically to their needs or area of interest, such as searching only for dye houses, or facilities with high numbers of workers.
During the industry-wide, open consultation process, it was evident that no agreed upon taxonomy for type of facility or type of processing existed, despite many users being eager to contribute and make use of this data.
To overcome this barrier, the OAR developed a taxonomy as part of its mission to drive standardisation and consensus around key industry data points.
“The OAR’s aim is to open up supply chain data for the benefit of all. The power of the OAR’s approach lies in transforming messy, inconsistent data into structured datasets, made freely available to all stakeholders under an open data license. In launching this development, we are driving further consensus within the apparel sector around key data points, leading to the increased data standardisation the sector so desperately needs,” said Natalie Grillon, Executive Director, OAR.
