We are in the midst of an ethical economy where a new mode of production is emerging. Firstly, the creation of value builds on the qualities associated with what moral philosophers have called 'civic virtue'; that is, the ability to build and strengthen the relations that integrate and make a community viable. Second, the relative value of actors, projects and products is determined according to diffuse peer based estimates of their the social utility of the impact of their activities.

Openwear will be institutionalizing these principles by making ethical values the foundation for community building and of value distribution. As a result every user is able to state what relational values are important to them in their work and to rate their collaborators on how well they are living by their values during the collaboration. In this way, values become an integral part in finding collaborators and suppliers, as well as in getting a sense of whom are creating value for the collaboration and the wider community, beside with their technical skills.