A technology company from Murcia has managed to have its solution present in one of the world’s largest retail showcases. NaviLens is partnering, alongside Spain’s National Organization of the Blind (ONCE), in the new accessible labeling system Inditex has begun rolling out across the garments of all its brands.
The project demonstrates how a small, specialized software company can turn a concrete social need into scalable technology and end up collaborating with a multinational corporation. NaviLens Tech is a software company based in Espinardo, Murcia, that develops visual codes designed to make information accessible to people who are blind or have low vision.
Its markers, formed by colored patterns, function similarly to QR codes, although they present an important difference: they can be detected by a smartphone camera without needing to be precisely focused. The app guides the user via audio and vibration and reads aloud the information associated with the code. It is also compatible with the accessibility tools built into mobile phones.
This technology is already used in transportation hubs, museums, streets, buildings and product packaging in various countries. Now, NaviLens takes another step by entering the fashion sector in partnership with Inditex.
A label that explains the garment through audio
The new system adds a NaviLens code next to the usual QR on Inditex labels. When scanned with a mobile phone, people with visual impairments can listen to information about the garment’s features, its size and its price, without having to ask store staff or other customers for help.
The reading can be performed either from the respective Inditex brand app or through NaviLens’ own app. The content is spoken in the language configured on the user’s device, enabling the solution to be deployed across the different international markets in which the group operates.
Inditex began a progressive rollout on June 1, 2026. Although initially only a portion of garments will carry this labeling, its presence will expand with the Fall–Winter 2026 collection, with the aim of reaching the entire Spring–Summer 2027 collection. The initiative will extend to all of the group’s brands and to its more than 5,000 physical stores, spread across nearly a hundred countries.
Among the brands involved are Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Lefties and Zara Home.
ONCE, key to validating the project
The technology has not been adopted solely from a technical standpoint. Inditex contacted approximately a year and a half ago with the ONCE social group to test the system with blind and low-vision users and tailor the experience to their real needs.
Tests conducted in a store in La Coruña allowed validation of issues such as the ease of locating the code, the clarity of the audio information, and the level of autonomy achieved during the purchase. ONCE has highlighted that the initiative eliminates a daily barrier: the inability to know basic data such as size, garment features, or price without assistance.
The project will also include a second phase that goes beyond the store. Inditex is working to embed NaviLens technology in the interior labels of garments. In this way, a person will be able to identify the clothes stored in their closet and consult washing, drying, or ironing instructions from home.
An opportunity for small businesses
The deployment of NaviLens at Inditex offers several lessons for SMEs. The first is that innovation isn’t always about developing more complex technologies, but about solving concrete problems in a simple, useful, and easily integrable way within existing processes.
The second is the importance of specialization. NaviLens has focused its activity on accessibility and has turned that knowledge into a proposition applicable across multiple sectors: transportation, food, tourism, culture, retail, and now fashion as well. This specialization allows it to present itself to large organizations not as a generic tech vendor, but as a partner with deep experience in a very defined need.
It also underscores the value of designing products from the outset with the people who will use them. The collaboration with ONCE has not only provided public backing for the project, but has served to test it, identify difficulties, and improve its operation before expanding internationally.
For retailers, manufacturers, and small businesses, accessibility can likewise become a differentiating factor. Incorporating audio information, improving the readability of a website, adapting customer service, or making labeling comprehensible not only fosters inclusion but also helps reach new customers, enhance the shopping experience, and strengthen brand trust.
Ultimately, NaviLens’ move into Inditex’s labels shows that a Spanish SME can develop from Murcia a solution capable of being deployed in thousands of stores worldwide. An innovation born to eliminate barriers that also stands as a testament to specialization, collaboration, and business growth.
