Background

Affordable, ethically sourced fashion

ShopSustainable is a web application that allows users to discover affordable, ethically-sourced clothing.

The app aims to not only provide eco-friendly, curated inspiration, but also educate the user about steps they can take to reduce environmental effects created by the fashion industry.

I worked in a team of six as a designer and software engineer to build a platform aiming to mitigate the rapid consumption of fast fashion.

Preview

Problem

Fast fashion produces 10% of all global carbon emissions

As fast fashion generates twice as many clothes now than in 2000, the industry has vast environmental effects that can be reduced through second-hand use, eco-friendly products, and more.

With Gen-Z and millennials being one of the largest consumers of fast fashion and online shopping, ShopSustainable seeks to target younger audiences for a large-scale impact.

To discover how we could best design an application promoting consumer consciousness, we interviewed 10 individuals from the ages of 18-30 about their consumption habits and experience with virtual shopping applications.

Research

Key Findings — What do consumers think?

Pain Point #1

Eco-friendly clothing is not always affordable.

Although shoppers may want to purchase eco-friendly clothing, it is often difficult to find these items in their budget, leading them to fast fashion alternatives.

Socioeconomic status thus affects the purchasing power of consumers.

Pain Point #2

Large companies are
given more exposure.

Common brands that contribute to fast fashion are often popularized within the media. Therefore, establishing familiarity, accessibility, and trust within buyers.

Pain Point #3

Consumers may
have a preference
for new clothing.

Clothing is something that can be personal to shoppers. Buyers may prefer to have their own, original pieces. This leads them to consume new items rather than purchasing second-hand.

Pain Point #4

Buyers fear deception.
(Greenwashing)

Many "environmentally-conscious" brands have been exposed to greenwash their products, giving false impression that their products are eco-friendly.

Distrust is created within consumers, especially if they had experiences in paying more money for these products.

Synthesis

Consumers often steer towards purchasing from clothing brands that are familiar and affordable despite their desire for ethical consumption. Socioeconomic status plays a role in this purchasing power of eco-friendly products.

Solution

Understanding the common needs of consumers, we formulated a potential solution:

ShopSustainable

A modern, online platform to purchase sustainable clothing that is affordable in comparison to familiar fast fashion alternatives.

ShopSustainable aims to have the following features:

Ideation

Through our ideation, we sought to give users the ability to interact with their clothing choices while being educated on their environmental impact.

A peek at our initial ideation.

We chose to have the following key components within our application:

Discover outfit inspiration

Ability to customize sustainable outfits or choose from preselected outfits.

Sustainability breakdown

Each clothing piece features a breakdown of its material and effect on the environment.

Outfit sharing

Allows users to share outfits with others and coordinate clothing. Seeks to promote familiarity and exposure to the app to stray away from familiar brands.

Design Iterations

Custom outfit selection

Exploring options for the custom outfit selection screen, we chose option #4. The design leads to a logical left-to-right motion for selection and has an organized hierarchy for the pieces.
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As there is a limited view with the user needing to scroll through each piece, we decided to also implement a gallery view.

Sustainability breakdown + checkout

We decided to combine the checkout screen with the sustainability breakdown to allow users to see their impact before purchasing.

We went with option #3 combined with #2 to provide organized, detailed information about each product without overcrowding the screen. Our design also provides an indicator to view the Sustainability Breakdown.

Final Prototype

Home

Users are invited to discover sustainable, affordable clothing options: they can choose to either customize or generate an outfit.

Select outfit preferences

Select a color scheme from a palette and search for or select a specific style to reduce decision fatigue.

Customize an Outfit

Piece together an outfit from various options generated by your preferences. Each piece is pulled from eco-friendly or second-hand stores and measured for affordability.

Support sustainability

Purchase items from your outfit selection and view the environmental impacts of the pieces in your cart.

Product Breakdown

View information about the brands the pieces come from. Grow consumer consciousness by discovering how they impact the environment.

Coordinate with friends

Shop sustainable with friends! Coordinate outfits by using the room feature to view one another's selections. Discuss options through a live-chat.

Educate

Further sustainability efforts with environmental resources related to the fast fashion industry.

Learnings

Why I love design.

Being able to work on a project that addressed social impact was something important to me. Finding common pain points amongst interviewees, I was excited to jump into designing to address their needs. A part of design that excites me is its capability of improving social inequities and forming change.

The importance of collaboration.

Within this project, I had the opportunity to work with individuals with different strengths. Collaborating with a diverse team, everyone had unique strong suits and a multitude of perspectives. As each member came forth to showcase their talents, we were able to uplift and pull from them, allowing our project to flow smoothly.