Remaro

The challenge

Challenge was to create a new enterprise that addressed a problem in New Zealand and create a website and brand that supported the solution.

For me, this was to find a way to lessen the burden of material waste on our environment.

The problem

How can we prevent young women in New Zealand from over consuming fast fashion and convince them to recycle clothing as well as buy used clothing items through the use of an enterprise.

Findings

Through research, I found key insights into what was causing such a high intake of fast fashion. This included the following:

• People are buying fast fashion because it's often the most accessible and affordable option
• Sustainable brands are too expensive and there aren't many options
• As consumers, we have no incentive to properly dispose of old garments outside of op shops

Ideation

During the ideation phase for this project, I explored how sustainability could become more engaging rather than restrictive for the users and how I could implement a rewards type system into the design where users felt encouraged to recycle due to having an incentive.

I also investigated current systems and op shops that are supporting material waste, however, most of the time users had low expectations due to the style of clothing, or the high cost of some more boutique op shops.

The solution

My solution to this "new enterprise" brief was Remaro, a fashion enterprise that allows the users to send in unwanted or old clothing items that they can recycle and then re-work them into new clothing. In return, the users are reimbursed for shipping as well as rewarded with a discount on the clothing that they sell.

This will give the users the incentive to buy from Remaro and continue the cycle of recycling, re-working, and buying.

Approach

The approach I took with creating Remaro focused heavily on researching the relationship between sustainable fashion and its affordability for young women in New Zealand, and comparing that with fast fashion. I explored how a reward based system could encourage more sustainable shopping habits while also creating a brand experience that felt modern, accessible, and comfortable.

The approach also included the following:

• Branding
• Sketching
• User testing
• Paper prototyping
• Lo-fi prototyping
• Feedback
• Coding

The Outcome

The outcome of this project was a successful full prototype, two coded flows of the website, and branding for a new enterprise that encourages young women to shop sustainably through a discount based system. This project created a successful cycle with 80% of the audience claiming they were more likely to recycle with Remaro.