At Open Supply Hub, we say that open data opens doors to safe and sustainable supply chains. But what does that actually mean for you? It’s easiest to break it down into three main ways Open Supply Hub (OS Hub) can “open doors” in your work:
- SHARE data to help build the world’s most open and accessible global supply chain map
- DISCOVER opportunities through overlapping datasets and design the most effective solutions
- COLLABORATE with partners you may not have known existed, who can accelerate your impact
Why and how would you follow these paths as a brand, civil society, MSI, or researcher? Using the apparel sector as a case study, we’ll walk through real-life examples of ways to share, discover and collaborate through OS Hub—let’s dive in:
SHARE Supply Chain Data
When data is shared, so many doors to better data and new collaborations are opened. Any organization is welcome to contribute their datasets and bring additional transparency to supply chains.
While brands may constitute the top contributor type as they share the production locations they source from, they’re not the only ones who can and have shared their data with OS Hub. For instance, global manufacturer TAL Apparel Limited shared and claimed OS Hub profiles for each of their facilities, not only ensuring that the information on the OS Hub platform is correct but also completing the profiles with additional details, such as Facility Type, Number of Workers, Certifications, and more. With this data now easily accessible online, anyone in the company can view all of their supply chain information in one place with a single click.
Similarly, the multi-stakeholder initiative RISE (Reimagining Industry to Support Equality) has contributed historical data on production locations that have participated in their women’s empowerment programs. Their datasets showcase which facilities received education in this area and in what year, helping to advance gender equality in the workplace. By aggregating this information on OS Hub, RISE can easily communicate where their programming has happened, to avoid duplication of effort and position themselves for engagement and partnership around factories where they have already built relationships.
Service providers like Worldly also benefit from sharing their supply chain data on our platform. By connecting to the OS Hub API and leveraging its common identifier, the OS ID, Worldly gets a central source of truth for facility location data. This enables them to match facilities quickly and easily with external datasets while seamlessly aligning all facility data with OS IDs.
In the case of brands, Dutch chain brand Zeeman recently published three tiers of supply chain data as well as embedded an interactive map on their website. Going beyond tier 1 is a supply chain challenge many companies currently face, and making such information publicly accessible sets a new standard for others to follow once their supply chain is mapped.
Ready to share your data? Learn how to upload the list of production locations you work with.
Are you a production location? Find out how to claim your facility(ies).
DISCOVER Opportunities Through Supply Chain Datasets
Open data has the power to unlock never-seen-before insights and discover new angles and opportunities that would have otherwise been missed.
When the water stewardship team at WWF, the world’s largest conservation NGO, was looking to understand how the apparel industry and its facilities affect freshwater and biodiversity globally, they used OS Hub to quickly see and identify distribution issues and potential negative and positive biodiversity or water impacts. For instance, by laying a map of the world’s wetlands over the map of apparel facilities in Open Supply Hub, they were able to spot the striking overlap between wetlands and apparel production zones.
Source: Avant-Garde: The Water Risks and Opportunities Facing Apparel and Textile Clusters, 2022
This information not only helps WWF’s understanding of who they need to approach to advance their wetland conservation, but also sets the stage to identify areas of potential wetland restoration that can benefit the apparel sector and even specific production facilities. This in turn is helping to build a stronger case for investment into nature-based solutions and mobilize financing for biodiversity.
In times of immediate crises, like earthquakes, flooding or social unrest, open data serves as a powerful tool to quickly assess the situation as organizations are looking to understand which production locations have been affected and how to coordinate response efforts. During the recent unrest and flooding in Bangladesh, the OS Hub team put together pre-drawn OS Hub searches of the flooded areas, as well as additional resources, guides, and background to assist in identifying affected suppliers, finding collaborators for collective action work, and more.
Looking for specific supply chain data? Discover how to search OS Hub to get most of this platform.
COLLABORATE to Accelerate Impact
Sharing supply chain data and uncovering untapped opportunities naturally leads to exploring collaborations with new partners and allies that you may not have known existed. There are countless examples of partnerships formed through the OS Hub platform that have accelerated impact.
One such example is the civil organization Clean Clothes Campaign, where OS Hub data enables them and their partner trade unions to identify which brands are sourcing from which factories. Following one particular example—the dismissal of a union leader—this information was used in combination with data from the Transparency Pledge and revealed that the brand was also a member of four multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs). In consultation with the Clean Clothes Campaign, the union picked the MSI known for the fastest response times on grievance mechanisms and was able to swiftly resolve the issue. Within five days, the union leader was reinstated to her full job, including backpay.
Another impactful use of OS Hub data occurred in response to the crisis in Myanmar, following the military takeover in February 2021 and the subsequent crackdowns on demonstrations. Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) used OS Hub data to connect local labor organizations with brands sourcing from factories where workers reported complaints about factory conditions. With trade union leaders in hiding and direct communication with factory management often impossible, MCRB combined OS Hub data, its own contacts, and additional desk research to alert Sourcing Managers at affiliated brands to potential problems in their supplier factories. This proactive approach enabled brands to engage directly with labor organizations, gain critical insights into factory conditions, and better support their ongoing heightened due diligence in the region.
Similarly, after the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (PST) published their data on the OS Hub platform, they were able to immediately see where other MSIs overlapped and establish impactful collaborations with them. For instance, the PST and a partner MSI connected members concerning an incident in a joint facility so that they could find a solution together. This effort has been so successful that since 2023, the PST made it mandatory for all member brands to contribute at least their tier 1 suppliers to their aggregated list, while tier 2 data will be added starting in 2025.
Since then, other organizations have followed suit. Ethical Trading Initiative has recently shared its new Corporate Transparency Framework, which now specifies that their company members must publish their tier 1 supplier lists directly on OS Hub. On top of that, Cascale has just announced a strategic collaboration with OS Hub to drive harmonized supply chain transparency and sustainability by integrating Cascale’s community with OS Hub’s data infrastructure, gaining access to reliable, actionable data that can be used to strengthen collaborative sustainability efforts.
Curious if your data overlaps? Watch a short YouTube guide on how to overlap datasets on OS Hub.
Open Data Opens Doors: Toward Supply Chain Transparency
By enabling brands, NGOs, and other stakeholders to share, discover, and collaborate effectively, OS Hub creates a ripple effect that leads to more responsible and transparent global supply chains. As these case studies illustrate, open data drives real change—be it pushing for better environmental solutions, strengthening workers’ rights, or fostering cross-sector collaboration.
With each new dataset shared, the vision of safer, more sustainable supply chains comes closer to reality. The question now is: how will you contribute to this impact?
—Share
—Discover
—Collaborate
OS Hub is a non-profit platform that relies on philanthropic support to sustain the world’s most complete, open and accessible supply chain map. Join us in powering the transition to safe and sustainable supply chains by making a donation today.
