R-7-Threads application

Our design solution initiative is to create a gamified app that provides users with useful information for making sustainable fashion choices, and engaging challenges to encourage their involvement in “slow fashion”.

Institution

Humber College

Date:

Winter 2020​

Responsibilities:

  • Research phase

  • Collaborating in The Design 

  • High-Fi prototyping

Team:

Pegah Sargolzaei

Anh Ho

Kristen Turner

Michael

Hiu Yan

Evelyn

Understanding the problem

  1. Project Overview

  2. What is Fast Fashion?

  3. Why Fast Fashion Isn’t Sustainable

Seeking for solution

  1. Our Research Plan

  2. Design Tools

  3. Context Map

  4. JANUS Cone

  5. Horizons Map

  6. Our Solution

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Final product

Profile:

  • Users would be able to borrow or

        buy second-hand clothes by 

        adding the items into their

        shopping list.

  •  They are able to share their  

         rewards with their friends ​

         in order to track their progress

         and get motivated by this trend.

  • Monitoring their progress in their 

       personal profile.​

  • Users would be able to enter 

        their individual information to​

        get the items that are fit you.

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Challenges:

  • To track the progress of each user, 7-R threats app provided some challenges and practical tutorials.

  •  There are a variety of tutorials for everyone who wants to learn more about repairing and exchanging clothes and learn about sustainability.

  • Facilitating access to different challenges by providing information about local challenges around the area the user is living in.

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  • To be more informed about sustainability and technologies that have been used within this trend, you are able to attend a variety of events that have been taken place in different parts of the world.

  •  You can easily register for attending any event.

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Events:

  • Explore feature encourage the user to swap, borrow or buy by considering their needs to filter the items and find their items 

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Explore:

Project overview

  1. What is fast fashion?

Trend Replication

Rapid, Mass Quantity Production

Low-quality, inexpensive materials

While brands like H&M, Topshop, and Zara have been the brunt of overproduction complaints, even luxury brands measure growth by increasing production. According to Fast Company, “apparel companies make 53 million tons of clothes into the world annually,” and the amount has surely increased since the article’s original release in 2019. “If the industry keeps up its exponential pace of growth, it is expected to reach 160 million tons by 2050.”​​

Disadvantages of Fast Fashion:

Wastes Water:

Environmental:

Social:

It takes 20,000L of water to produce 1kg of cotton.

“The water consumed to grow India’s cotton exports in 2013 would be enough to supply 85% of the country’s 1.24 billion people with 100 liters of water every day for a year.” - Stephen Leahy, The Guardian, 2015

Massive amount of chemicals used to produce textiles results in soil and water pollution

  • Wastewater contains lead, arsenic, mercury - and is dumped into nearby rivers, which harms both people and wildlife

Deforestation to produce wood-based fibers (e.g., rayon)

Nearly 30kg of clothing waste/year in America

Fast fashion accounts for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions

Sourcing cheap labour means supporting operations with poor working conditions, a lack of workers’ rights, and abysmal wages

 

Constant trend changeover can create feelings of always needing “more” and “new”, cluttering both our homes and our minds

How the world has tried to tackle the issue so far

Reuse, Resell, Rent:

Environmental:

Social:

  1. Buy/sell used clothing through apps and retailers - e.g., Plato’s Closet, thredUP

  2. Emergence of online marketplaces, such as Facebook, Kijiji, etc.

  1. 3D printing, laser cutters, VR/AR “fitting rooms” have enabled us to produce clothing to-order (e.g., Neuro Studio)

  2. Self-cleaning (photocatalytic) textiles are being developed

Alternatives to common textiles are emerging - e.g., organic cotton

Seeking a Solution

Objectives:

  1. Gain insight into the current understanding of fast fashion in the City of Toronto

  2. Understand current resources and community events that are available to residents who are looking to adopt sustainable practices

  3. Understand the motivations and behaviors of consumers when they make fashion consumption decisions

Methodology:

  1. Surveys to understand demographic information (e.g., age, socioeconomic status) in relation to how people currently shop, how they get rid of clothing, and their difficulties - on a large scale.

  2. Semi-structured interviews with selected individuals who indicated an interest in improving their fashion sustainability efforts, to gain deeper insights into their environmental beliefs, awareness of fast fashion/slow fashion movements, and current consumption behaviors.

Context Map

Janus Cone

Meet the Ultimate Sustainable Fashion App: R-7-Threads

  • Our design solution initiative is to create a gamified app that provides users with useful information for making sustainable fashion choices, and engaging challenges to encourage their involvement in “slow fashion”.

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  •  This app will help users be more aware of the different ways they can make conscious fashion choices. 

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  • It will track their progress and be shareable with others in the community to cultivate a sense of collaboration.

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  • It will also encourage community members to organize and attend clothing swaps, sustainability and clothing repair workshops, and more.