OVERVIEW
&papaya was the deadstock-based fashion line that amassed 18.5K followers on Instagram, designed and hand-stitched 12 pieces, and sold out in under an hour.
In January 2020, I began designing and executing a research project investigating sustainability in fashion. I worked end-end with 4 other Stanford Product Designers through the design process. The product of this 8-month project was &papaya.
OVERVIEW
&papaya was the deadstock-based fashion line that amassed 18.5K followers on Instagram, designed and hand-stitched 12 pieces, and sold out in under an hour.
In January 2020, I began designing and executing a research project investigating sustainability in fashion. I worked end-end with 4 other Stanford Product Designers through the design process. The product of this 8-month project was &papaya.
in-depth interviews
FINDINGS
I connected with industry professionals for informational interviews about the landscape, pitfalls, and users of sustainable products. This directed me to focus on Gen Z.
My team and I divided to speak with a total of 10 Gen Z users. Setting my experience aside, I conducted 5 ethnographies / in-depth interviews to investigate shopping habits, attitudes and if/how sustainability impacts purchasing decisions.
For this qualitative methodology, I wanted my team to interview a minimum of 5 users ( as suggested by Neilson Norman) but to shoot for 8, the golden number taught to me in Stanford's Product Design program.
01: The waste in the textile industry is huge. It's responsible for 10% of humanity's carbon emissions.
02: There is a strong reaction against the ‘sustainable look’. Association between sustainability and raggedy hand-me-downs is strong.
03: People want their clothes to feel individual and unique without having to spend the time it takes to thrift.
surveys
In interviews, I observed that people expressed interest in shopping sustainably but admitted they didn't do it often. To test the prevalence of my observation, I made a short survey asking participants to quantify their actions. Since this is a quantitative method, I wanted more participants to get a significant result.
How much do you care about shopping sustainably?
1 -- 2 -- 3 -- 4 -- 5 -- 6 -- 7 -- 8 -- 9 -- 10
How often do you practice shopping sustainably?
1 -- 2 -- 3 -- 4 -- 5 -- 6 -- 7 -- 8 -- 9 -- 10
FINDING
There is a gap between intent and action. Responses showed that people cared about sustainability 3+ points more than they practiced it.
HOW MIGHT WE...
Reduce the gap between the desire to live sustainably and actually doing so?
HOW MIGHT WE BUILD A FASHION LINE THAT...
01: Reduces waste.
02: Celebrates uniqueness.
03: Sets trends.
01: REDUCES WASTE
I researched different waste-saving methods to make clothes. Initially, I collected second-hand clothing to use as a fabric source. In prototyping, I discovered how intensive disassembly is and that the low consistency/quality of fabric was difficult to work with. Additionally, the laundering of clothes before use would add another incentive and unsustainable step in this model.
Then, I discovered deadstock fabric (fabric that would have been thrown away because it is out of season or was overproduced) and built a partnership with Queen of Raw, a deadstock retailer.
02: CELEBRATES UNIQUENESS
Deadstock fabric fulfilled this design principle as well– every piece that my team and I designed was one-of-a-kind since we were at the will of the fabrics and quantities from Queen of Raw.
03: SETS TRENDS
Based on the user values identified in interviews, I created ad campaigns and ran a/b tests that informed &papaya's messaging and brand. Insights from these tests guided my team and I through brand iterations as we learned more about our user's values and style. With each iteration, &papaya's following and influence grew.
Note: Early on, this project name was 'Everyday and Co.' as you will see in this ad.
We make sustainability fashionable
41% votes
We make sustainability easy
18% votes
Sustainability is our #1 priority
41% votes
Edgey
Cheap
Unique / Handcrafter
Sustainable
Customizable
Highest CTR's
I created two version of the "Lifecycle of Fabric" educational series where I played with collaging digital art versus photos. CTR showed that users preferred the photo collages and photo-based branding.
REFLECTION
My team was very excited about creating sustainable clothes and building a brand. We narrowed into this space quickly due to the project timeline. With more time, I would've loved to start higher up in the sustainable fashion space and done research about textile recycling, re-sale as a service, and other sustainable innovations and business models in fashion.
I wonder what needs exists in textile recycling facilities? What do second-hand shoppers and sellers value? What is fashion when measured by its system, and how might this system honor people and restore our planet?