Project Overview

Fast fashion is a growing trend in the modern apparel industry, characterized by its rapid production cycles, low-cost manufacturing, and quickly changing styles. Emerging in the late 20th century as a means of meeting demands for trendy clothing at budget-friendly prices, this method of production has caused detrimental effects to the environment as consumers are now buying and discarding more clothing than ever before.

Winning submission to KatyYouthHacks 2023 (6th place out of 68 projects)

Problem Statement

Consumers seek durable clothing but often experience quality loss after wear and wash. prompting them to frequently purchase new clothes in order to replace old ones. This demand has led to the rise of unsustainable practices in the clothing industry.

How might we help users find higher quality products and encourage sustainable consumer practices?

Research

In order to gauge user priorities when shopping, we conducted a survey asking what factors are important to them and whether or not environmental sustainability significantly influences their decision.

Survey Results - 39 Responses

74% of respondents rank durability as high importance on a scale of 1-5

whereas only 43% rank environmental sustainability at high importance

Pain Points

1. Respondents rank environmental sustainability as lower priority when shopping. Our given prompt asked us to address environmental sustainability; how can we still achieve this while it is not a priority for users?
2. Possible biases in reported methods of determining quality (e.g, company website, customer reviews); How can we help users make informed decisions when shopping?
3. Being able to sew, or knowing someone who knew how to, significantly influences likelihood of repairing clothing. How can we reduce waste if accessibility to clothing repair is an obstacle?