Otrium makes sustainability strides with British Fashion Council and SBTi

The shelter reflects the alignment between Otrium’s vision of a world in which all clothing is worn and the British Fashion Council’s ambition to build a successful circular fashion economy.

As patron, Otrium will support the British Fashion Council (BFC) to deliver a significant and impactful program that has a positive impact on the industry at large. In particular, Otrium will play a key role in helping BFC develop strategies for more sustainable business practices and how fashion brands report progress and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) credentials.

As part of the patronage, Milan Daniels, co-CEO and co-founder at Otrium, will also join BFC’s Industry Advisory Board to oversee, support and advise on key issues facing the industry.

Otrium joins 36 British Fashion Council customers including Depop, Farfetch, Yoox Net-A-Porter, Burberry and Chanel.

“Starting patronage with BFC is an important milestone for Otrium. We see a future where all clothes are worn and supporting the work of the British Fashion Council is a big step towards that. We look forward to collaborating with the wider British Fashion Council network and driving long-term positive change in the industry,” said Daniels.

Otrium is designed to solve the fashion industry’s unsold inventory challenges by providing fashion brands with online outlet channels and digital tools to intelligently connect their end-of-season collections with fashion lovers.

Otrium believes that all clothing should be worn and works to ensure its brand partners give their unsold items the best chance of finding their owners. It says its technology helps brands in three ways:

1. Intelligently matches all inventory on its platform with a community of over 3.5 million fashion lovers. Otrium receives and polishes every item in its warehouse to ensure everything is optimal before being displayed on the site – which includes product photography, product descriptions, garment pressing, steaming and new packaging when required.
2. Data-driven fashion to take the guesswork out of clothing manufacturing, paving the way to a future without overstocking. The data-driven mode allows brands to produce goods based on existing data on successful merchandise sales, shopping habits, and customer demand.
3. Repair and update returned items that will never be sold. With about a quarter of all fashion e-commerce sales across the industry being returned, often slightly damaged and unable to be resold as is, Otrium repair services are able to accomplish this with about half of all returns recovered and sold.

Caroline Rush, BFC chief executive, added: “We are delighted to welcome Otrium as BFC’s patron. As we embark on this important journey of bringing the UK fashion industry into a circle, Otrium’s expertise will be critical to our expanded network. We look forward to working with Otirum to create positive change across the industry.”

The patronage comes as Otrium reaches new heights, with over 3.5 million registered members and 400 brand partners now live. Recent labels to join the list include Zadig and Voltaire, All Saints, Viktor & Rolf and Thakoon.

It also follows news announced earlier this week that as part of its journey to become part of a smarter fashion industry, Otrium is signing up for the Science Based Targets (SBTi) initiative and supporting its efforts to deliver ambitious corporate climate action.

The company claims to be the first stand-alone off-price fashion business committed to setting Science-Based Targets with the goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest.

“We have ambitions to create a smarter fashion industry, and are committed to doing so without compromising our own operational impact as a company,” said Marlot Kiveron, head of sustainability at Otrium. “We have promised to report within the framework of the SBTi, transparently and in line with science.

“We have done the first carbon footprint report which will serve as the basis for setting targets. Next up is our Science-Based Target setting process, directing our carbon reduction roadmap and annual reporting on our progress.”

Towards the end of last year, Otrium partnered with Good On You to provide members with more information about brands that are working harder on sustainability – with a focus on human, planet and animal welfare.

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