Introducing GroundTruth: The Transparency Solution That Finally Delivers
Why GroundTruth Is the Missing Link
Earlier, we explored platforms like Worldly, TrusTrace, Retraced, and Peftrust. They’ve brought structure to sustainability and traceability—but they all share two major blind spots:
They’re all SaaS solutions: requiring subscription fees before any benefit is realized, turning early stages into cost centers.
They don’t address the hidden work of ensuring high-quality data—from spreadsheets to verified records—which remains a pain point for brands and suppliers alike.
GroundTruth is designed to solve both.
What Makes GroundTruth Different
Built to fix the core issues other platforms overlook, it offers:
Data-as-an-Asset, Not Just Another Admin Task
We capture validated data—like energy use, labor practices, and traceability—directly at the source, productizing it so it’s standardized, secure, and ready to be shared or monetized.Incentivizing Participation Through Marketplace Revenue
Instead of asking suppliers to share data out of goodwill, GroundTruth enables brands, factories, and even retailers to sell verified data via a trusted marketplace—with revenue shared back. Data stops being a cost, and starts generating returns.Expert Support—Still Partner, Not Just Vendor
GroundTruth blends coaching and platform deployment. It helps brands and suppliers improve data governance and quality before integration, reducing friction and enhancing data trust.
How GroundTruth Fills the Gaps
Common Challenges and GroundTruth's Response:
Upfront SaaS Costs: Other platforms require payment before value is realized. GroundTruth introduces a revenue-sharing model, helping offset costs through data monetization.
Data Collection Burden: Many tools expect brands to wrangle data themselves. GroundTruth includes expert onboarding to guide data clean-up and improve supplier workflows before software kicks in.
Fragmented Supplier Data: Traditional platforms accept but don’t fix poor data. GroundTruth standardizes and verifies information at the source, ensuring consistency and quality.
Too Many Point Solutions: Competing tools focus on narrow areas—Higg, PEF, blockchain, etc. GroundTruth unifies traceability, sustainability, and ROI under one integrated model.
Ideal Impact for Fashion Industry
Reduce the barrier to entry: No more paying software fees with no output—GroundTruth helps you earn before you pay.
Improve data quality upstream: Instead of plugging broken data systems into software, GroundTruth ensures your data works before it enters the tool.
Turn sustainability into ROI: Data becomes a source of revenue via external buyers—retailers, ESG researchers, investors.
Avoid platform fragmentation: Enjoy a unified pathway from data capture to traceability and monetization, without juggling multiple subscriptions.
A Simple Story: How Transparency Became a Win-Win
A mid-tier accessories brand was under pressure from retailers to prove their sustainability practices. One key supplier—a factory in South Asia—had the data (labor hours, energy use), but it was messy and hard to use.
GroundTruth stepped in.
We helped standardize the data, align it with regulatory and retailer requirements, and integrate it with the brand’s ERP. The verified dataset was uploaded to GroundTruth and made available on the marketplace.
Retailers and an ESG fund purchased access.
As a result:
The factory got paid for their data.
The brand offset their transparency costs—and then some.
Both saved time and built stronger retail relationships.
Transparency didn’t just meet expectations—it generated revenue.
❓FAQs
Q: What makes GroundTruth different from other platforms like TrusTrace or Worldly?
A: GroundTruth doesn't just help track or measure sustainability—it transforms data into a monetizable asset. It provides both technical tools and expert help to improve data quality upstream.
Q: How does the data marketplace work?
A: Brands and suppliers can package verified sustainability data and list it on an established marketplaces. Buyers—like retailers, rating agencies, or ESG investors—can license the data, and revenue is shared with the provider.
Q: Can GroundTruth replace my existing traceability tools?
A: It can complement or, in some cases, consolidate them—especially for mid-tier brands looking to unify compliance, transparency, and ROI under one roof.
Q: Is this just another SaaS subscription?
A: No. While there is a software layer, GroundTruth's model is performance-driven. It blends services and monetization, so it becomes self-funding instead of a cost center.
Q: What’s the onboarding like?
A: Hands-on. GroundTruth pairs brands with experts to map data gaps, improve inputs, and activate the right metrics. It’s not a plug-and-play tool—it’s a guided transformation.
Key Takeaways
GroundTruth makes sustainability data pay for itself—literally.
It reduces friction and improves data integrity at the source.
It aligns incentives across the value chain, from suppliers to retailers.
Mid-tier brands finally get a solution that supports their scale, budgets, and goals.