Open Apparel Registry (OAR) | ICAR

Open Apparel Registry (OAR)

The Open Apparel Registry (OAR) is a neutral, open source and free tool which maps garment facilities worldwide and assigns a unique ID number to each. The mission of the OAR is to maintain an open-source and publicly accessible database of every facility in the global apparel and footwear sector, for the purposes of enabling industry collaboration and improved identification of factories.

The OAR collates disparate supplier lists from industry stakeholders into one central, open source map and database, listing facility names, addresses, and affiliations. It compiles data from multiple sources including large datasets from multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs), brand and retailer supplier lists, facilities and factory groups, service providers, government databases and more.

Any user can upload a facility list and normalize it against the OAR database to receive their matches and the OAR IDs for their facilities. Each user that contributes data is listed as a data contributor on the relevant facility profiles in the tool.

A sophisticated name and address matching algorithm processes data uploaded to the OAR, identifying matches to facilities already in the database or creating new entries where the facility does not yet exist in the tool. Each facility in the OAR is allocated its own unique ID, in order to reduce confusion, facilitate interoperability between systems and enable more effective and efficient collaborations.

Any user can search and download data from the OAR, for free.

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# and type of entity45,136Factories
RegionGlobal
FrequencyReal-time
# of metrics disclosedN/A
# of data points gathered per entity3
Year of first public disclosure2019
Data collection methodCrowd-sourcing
Data verification methodSelf-Disclosed
Themes evaluatedData contributor (facility affiliation), Factory / Facility GPS location, Factory / Facility Name and Address, Product type, Unique OAR ID
Vehicle for disclosureSearchable database, CSV
Cost to accessFree
Intended users of the DisclosureBrands and retailers, factories and/or suppliers, Workers in factories, Unions, Governments, NGOs and civil society