US' MakersValley launches Orma traceability suite for fashion brands

The timing of this launch is fitting given the rise in demands for corporate transparency that many in the fashion industry, including Orma’s founders, have observed. According to The Honest Product Guide from the Consumer Goods Forum, a majority of global customers feel that brands do not offer enough information about how their products impact various social, environmental, safety and health issues. The same report reveals that 90 per cent of corporate members surveyed believe that their customers have a greater interest in transparency related issues now than they had five years ago.

The 2022 State of Fashion Report notes that more than 40 per cent of Gen-Z customers seek out brands that have a solid reputation on sustainability. That said, greenwashing and woke-washing has become a major issue in fashion marketing. Only 60 per cent of brands surveyed by the 2021 Remake Fashion Accountability Report publicly disclosed their tier 1 suppliers and only 5 per cent revealed their full supply chains. Despite market share, the same report notes that small-to-medium sized companies scored an average of 28 points higher on transparency markers than their larger counterparts.

As a digitally based tool suite with on and off-screen capabilities, Orma is well-positioned to help fashion brands that prioritise transparency demonstrate their commitment in a way that is both engaging and shoppable, the company said in a media release.

Orma does this by providing brands with a user-friendly tool suite that they can use to create and launch visual, dynamic, shoppable and shareable online fashion product stories, known in Orma as Product Experience pages, in mere minutes. These pages can be used to communicate the real, insider stories of how the garment and accessories products their customers love came to life using product design sketches, factory insights, behind the scenes footage, and photos and videos that end customers can share on social media. These, accented by a selection of plug and play features to illustrate product development-to-market timeline, interactive global supply chain maps, etc, gives customers a deep, yet still shoppable, look at their favourite fashion goods. These features will prove especially helpful to small-to-medium sized fashion brands with little to no tech expertise.

Orma co-founder and CEO, Alessio Iadicicco, explained how he expects Orma to revolutionise shopping in fashion: “Imagine entering your favourite boutique or online marketplace and being instantly able to view the full, detailed stories of the products you’re seeing in front of you. In just a simple link click or real-life QR code scan, your device can unlock a wealth of rich product information that goes beyond the simple instructions on a care label or price tag. You’re now revealing something much deeper that shows you through pictures and video how the products you’re seeing were made, which designers or artisans created them, and how they embody the values and mission of the brand that created them.

“Things are no longer separated into just e-commerce or just in-store. This is a true omnichannel experience. This is the future of shopping that we see with Orma.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)