EcoFashion Scanner: Bridging the Gen Z and Millennial 'Green Gap' by Facilitating Sustainable Fashion Consumption Behaviours
Bokyung Um, Catarina Santos, Sharihan Abdirahman, Aoife Power, Zainab Uddin
Link to prototype
⭐ This project was awarded with the runner-up position at the student design competition presented at CHI conference 2024 @ Honolulu, Hawaii and published in ACM conference proceedings.
Project overview
EcoFashion Scanner is a mobile application designed to help Generation Z and Millennials make more sustainable fashion choices by bridging the gap between their eco-conscious values and fast fashion purchasing behaviors. The project was developed in response to the fashion industry's significant contribution to climate change, accounting for 10% of global carbon emissions. Despite their awareness of environmental issues, younger consumers often fail to act on their values due to a lack of information and motivation. EcoFashion Scanner addresses this "green gap" by providing users with comprehensive sustainability data and actionable steps to make more informed fashion choices.
PROBLEM
Unsustainable fashion industry, particularly "fast fashion", is severely affecting climate changes already causing devastating global consequences such as droughts and catastrophic storms.
This challenge is a recognised concern and included in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Existence of Green-gap
Generation Z and Millennials are key consumers of fast fashion, yet they exhibit a gap between their environmental values and actual purchasing behaviors ('green-gap'). This discrepancy is caused by limited access to sustainable fashion information, a lack of clear disposal methods for old clothes, and the allure of low-cost fast fashion.
How can we support people to make more sustainable decisions towards fashion industry?
DESIGN PROCESS
Discovery
1) LITERATURE REVIEW - key insightS:
- UK's £73M clothing was spent in 2022, and online clothing shopping is on an upward trajectory;
- Increasing clothing lifespan aids in reducing environmental impact;
- Gen Z and Millennials' smartphone reliance drives a mobile-centric approach for solutions.
2) SURVEY
Define
PERSONAS
BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS
Three main gaps were found on the target user:
- Lack of knowledge
- Environment
- Intent
Behavioural Change Techniques (BCTs) were mapped to the respective gaps.
Develop
CRAZY 8s
How to support behavioural change towards more sustainable practices?
Several ideas were generated and thematically clustered into four categories:
KEY REQUIREMENTS
After plotting ideas into a 2x2 matrix of Relevance and Feasibility FOUR key requirements were defined:
- Access to sustainability information of clothing during shopping (online/in-store)
- Access to eco alternatives
- Access to recycle/donation pathways
- Access to video tutorial to support clothing repair
USER FLOWS
Deliver
LO-FI PROTOTYPE
USABILITY TEST ➡ ITERATION
HI-FI PROTOTYPE
REFLEXION
This project was conducted in a tight timeline which made planning every task right at the beginning very important with regular review to confirm that the project was on track.
Being organised, goal-driven and accountable were essential for the timely success of this project.