Project for Contextual Research Methods class
Excessive Consumption and The Waste Implications of Overproduction
The over-consumption and over-production of clothing have led to the exacerbation of global warming due to mass stockpiles in landfills and greenhouse gas emissions from the incineration of synthetic fibers.
The circular economy begs consumers and retailers to take action against this excess.
Research shows 80 billion pieces of clothing are created every year, and more than 50% of fast fashion is disposed of in under one year.
The goal is to explore how social media affects the consumption of clothing, and how different business models deal with transparency, overproduction, and waste.
Generation-Z makes a conscious effort to shop second-hand and sustainably.
Stores transport their unbought items to second-hand retailers.
Second-hand stores either throw away or incinerate excess clothing.
Employees aren’t thinking about the greater impact of the industry.
There are people all over the world who don’t have the necessary clothing items.
Secondary Research
Database:
Create a database of credible sources that have information pertaining to the fast fashion industry and the effects of discarding clothing improperly. This will be used to back up our claims and back up the validity of our prototypes.
Primary Research
Survey:
We are going to make a survey of 2-6 questions that will contain questions regarding demographics, fast fashion purchasing habits, and how they discard clothing. This will allow us to reach a broader audience.
In-depth Discussions
Interviews:
One on One discussions about a person’s discarding process when it comes to their clothing. This will give us a more personalized response.
What happens to the textiles that are not sold at fashion retailers?
Are second-hand stores contributing enough to the circular economy?
Is waste happening on an individual or corporate level?
What are the obstacles and options for keeping clothes out of landfills?
Affinity Mapping
Empathy Mapping
Butterfly Model
Stakeholder Map
AEIOU Map
84% of consumers ages 14-21 are influenced by social media to purchase
Influencers are becoming retailers: Influencers gain monetary benefits from their followers when they shop through them. This happens through ambassador promo codes, referral links, and personal storefronts
Consumers don't know what steps to take to be more sustainable
Donated clothing is out of sight, out of mind for consumers
Insight
The pressure to keep up with trends is perpetuated by social media and influencers, encouraging consumers to buy larger quantities at cheaper prices.
How Might We?
How might we intercept purchases before they happen by demonstrating the risk factors of consuming fast fashion?
Concept
Information/cautionary labels, similar to the COVID-19 ones, on videos or posts with keywords (haul, Shein, H&M, dupes) for a chance to learn about the facts and negative impacts of fast fashion.
Similar Interventions
Latin America: Cautionary hexagons on packaged food like "high in calories" and "high in sodium.”
Tags on clothing informing how to wash the garments
Nutrition fact labels on every packaged product.
Cautionary tags on Twitter warning misinformation about the 2020 elections
Insight
Production is its own issue, but consumers only have control over the life of the garment when it's in their hands. The problem is, they don't know what steps to take to be more sustainable.
How Might We
How might we get fast-fashion retailers to encourage responsibility from the consumers?
Concept
QR codes on the tags of garments that can be scanned to reveal a microsite of information on local donation or recycling sites, ideas for upcycling garments, etc.
Similar Interventions
Target Circle: Scan barcodes to find items online, coupons, deals
Chevrolet: Scan QR codes to find more information about the manufacture of the car.
Tesco: Virtual store in South Korea that uses QR codes to facilitate shopping.
Digital boarding passes: Scan QR codes from your phone instead of having to print a boarding pass.
Insight
People don't know what happens to their clothes after they donate them and they haven't bothered to wonder: Out of sight, out of mind.
How Might We
How might we encourage secondhand stores to be more transparent about where unsellable clothes are going and in turn give validation to the consumers for their donations?
Concept
A notification system that tracks your garment from the time it arrives at the store to the date it is sold, or deemed unsellable and gives options for how you would like to discard it.
Similar Interventions:
Amazon: Package status notifications
ThredUp: Step to step notifications of the status of your clean out bag
Insight
People enjoy the option to thrift clothing because they are aware of its sustainable benefits, however, they are on the search for unique items, and sometimes it's difficult to find the right sizes.
How Might We
Create a space for people to have unique clothing with a longer life cycle to minimize waste?
Concept
Have retailers sell pieces of precut fabrics and in-house tailors to make garments to fit the consumer's measurements. You can look at the different styles through a lookbook.
Similar Interventions
Build a Bear: Choose your own bear, accessories for a unique, one-of-a-kind bear.
Suitmakers in Hong Kong
Using the Eisenhower Matrix, our group concluded that the intervention that had the highest impact and cost less to implement was intervention 3.