SupplyCompass, the production software for fashion brands and manufacturers, has launched its global deadstock library in partnership with Queen of Raw, a US-based technology company that aims to eliminate the deadstock problem through the use of technology and a digitalised supply chain.
Through the partnership with Queen of Raw, SupplyCompass says it will offer deadstock fabrics at scale to brands and manufacturers in its network.
According to the company, this will make SupplyCompass the first product lifecycle management (PLM) service with a marketplace where deadstock fabric is seamlessly integrated into design flow and is available at the ideation stage of production and design.
“Usually a disjointed process, through the Deadstock Library, brands can design collections around what is available rather then relying on custom virgin materials each season,” the company says.
The companies explored the partnership and the issue of deadstock in a webinar titled SupplyCompass In Conversation with Queen of Raw, which was hosted live on 17 September 2020.
Flora Davidson, co-founder of SupplyCompass, said the company had seen the challenges in achieving and integrating deadstock into its own platform at scale while enabling brands to source fabrics ‘in just one click’.
“The goal for the partnership [with Queen of Raw] – and end goal for SupplyCompass – is that a brand can be in a platform and source any kind of fabric,” Davidson said.
Queen of Raw, whose private portal connects fabric sellers and buyers, addresses the US$120bn per year of unused textiles that are thrown into landfills, burned or laid to rest in warehouses. By leveraging blockchain technology, the company additionally provides transparency around wasted inventory – including water, toxins, energy and dollars saved – through its platform.
Thus, the collaboration with Queen of Raw will support SupplyCompass’ wider mission to make sustainability accessible and cost effective for all industry players.
In the webinar, the two companies explored the problem of deadstock within the fashion industry and how it highlights the pervasive and wasteful nature that has become commonplace.
With the industry under crisis as Covid-19 sweeps the globe, the companies note how the demand for deadstock has been accelerated by the impacts of the pandemic.
“[The industry] is currently clearly experiencing a crisis of supply,” said Stephanie Benadetto, founder of Queen of Raw. “More deadstock and unused inventory [are] available all over the world than ever before, and the world has woken up to these issues.
“The word deadstock – people always think of it as literally dead stock. Second-rate goods, scraps maybe off a cutting room floor, stuff nobody would want.
“But […] we have seen a massive volume […] of the most beautiful materials, all in mint condition, still sealed on rolls, that is looking for a home. […] This isn’t deadstock, it’s very much alive – how can we, together, bring it back into the chain of supply and demand and give it a new life?”
Consequently, as part of the companies’ joint mission to eliminate the deadstock problem, materials classified as deadstock were made available to source through the SupplyCompass platform – its Deadstock Library – from 1 September 2020.
In turn, Queen of Raw’s designers and brands will be able to tap into the SupplyCompass network to manufacture collections using its platform and services.
Brands can access the Deadstock Library by signing up to the SupplyCompass platform.
To hear SupplyCompass in conversation with Queen of Raw, which further explores the partnership, Benedetto’s company, the economics of waste in fashion supply chains and how technology has been ‘integral to their revolutionary journey’, visit the company blog.
For more information, visit Queen of Raw at www.queenofraw.com and SupplyCompass at www.supplycompass.com.
