OWNI, the UK tech start up reimagining fashion resale, has launched its intelligent digital wardrobe technology as part of its mission to change the way we buy and sell second-hand in a bid to reduce waste and move away from a fast fashion throwaway culture.
This new web3 technology traces items as their ownership changes and involves brands in the resale market. OWNI offers a commercially profitable way for brands to manage their visibility in the second-hand market and share in the resale value in the form of a royalty when items they have originally produced are sold on.
The second-hand market is currently only focused on consumer buyers and sellers, the OWNI marketplace creates a fully circular economy where shoppers and brands are rewarded throughout a product’s full lifecycle not just the first purchase.
OWNI optimises resale of items from brand partners which are owned but unused through automatic listings of belongings removing the manual and time-consuming process in the current online second-hand market.
Emulating the same experience of buying and selling only found in the ‘new’ market, OWNI has incorporated a simple one-tap selling process for items, free returns and shipping (over £50) and a Verified product scheme which creates immediate payments for items confirmed as an original, giving confidence to buyers that they are purchasing genuine items.
Founded by sustainable fashion entrepreneurs Kalkidan Legesse and Vidmantas Markevicius, OWNI is backed by Google, and secured £350,000 investment in 2022 from angel investors and VCs.
The company is looking to raise further investment this year as it targets its first 100,000 UK users with ambitions for expansion into other markets and countries in the future.
The Devon-based business is currently growing its brand partnerships and already works with independent UK fashion brands including Lowie, Komodo Fashion, Fanfare Label, People Tree, Gung-ho London.
OWNI founder and CEO Kalkidan Legesse said: “Nothing else like OWNI exists in the resale market. We have created a marketplace which completely rethinks the way we buy, sell and own our belongings.
“We’re all aware that the more we consume, the greater the impact on the planet. We want to end the impact of fashion on the climate and help people organise what they own to provide more shared value. Our vision is to make second-hand first choice to improve sustainability for all.”
