A lot of textile is wasted every year. Well over 10.000 metric tons in Rotterdam alone. The cause? I’d love to tell you it was just fastfashion brands like Zara being evil. And simply boycotting them would save the world. But sadly, unlike their cheap sweaters, this problem has many layers. Some of those layers indeed lie with those big institutions. From cheap materials, to unethical labor environments and unsustainable return policies. As a UI/UX designer I feel highly unqualified to tackle those problems, luckily for me we as consumers create some problems of our own.
With Earth being my third favorite planet in our solar system, I decided to do my part in helping it stay a bit cleaner. So for my graduation project, I helped EigenDraads untangle the consumer side of the problem. And in doing so creating the concept for an app to help consumers understand their clothing a bit better and discard sustainably.
step 1: The user receives a 'tasmand' (a hybrid of the Dutch words: tas & wasmand). A special bag made from recycled fabrics, used to seperate clothing, just like one would for old plastics or paper. Every piece of clothing the user plans to discard now goes in the tasmand. Repeat until full.
step 2: When the tasmand is full and the user ready, they'll be assisted by the app in sorting their clothing. The garments will be categorized in one of three tiers. Repairable, rewearable and recyclable. The user will also receive information related to sustainability about what they're doing and why.
step 3: Lastly the user will discard the clothes. With an overview of all near sustainable places to do so and a description of how to get there.
