Get to Know Our Team
Sarah Francis
Jaiden Murray
Chelsey Ojeda
Computer Science & Minor in Data Science
Global Public Health and African American & African Studies with a minor in Sociology
Civil Engineering & Minor in Engineering Business
Abstract
Within the UVA community, a concerning trend has emerged: a rise in clothing disposal. Students frequently purchase items, wear them just once, and then discard them. Similarly, some hold onto garments for extended periods, only to dispose of them rather than donate. Recognizing this pervasive issue thorough research and observation, Group Sustainability aimed to address it. People often dispose of clothes without considering alternative actions, prompting us to seek ways to educate for greater sustainability.
To tackle this, Team Sustainability devised a platform. This resource offers insights into clothing waste's impact, showcases peer experiences, highlights thrift stores and donation spots in Charlottesville, and encourages involvement in sustainable practices. Additionally, it facilitates clothing swaps among UVA students. Our prototype not only educates but empowers users to adopt more sustainable habits, fostering a greener community.
How can I help?
Empathize
Throughout our time at UVA, we've observed a prevalent tendency among ourselves and peers to unconsciously discard items when no longer needed. Notably, first-years lack avenues to donate clothes, compelling many to discard items despite reluctance. This holds true for upperclassmen as well.
We conducted diverse interviews to gauge understanding and interest in addressing clothing waste. Our findings revealed a collective desire for education and action to minimize this issue.
Interviewees expressed a need for a comprehensive platform offering education and resources to actively reduce clothing waste, aligning with ongoing initiatives and tackling material waste on campus.
Define
Common Interest
We came together as a group because we all have a shared interest in sustainability and a common goal of making positive contributions to environmental well-being.
How Might We?
When we were given the task of identifying questions to work on, we collectively landed on the idea of exploring "How might we effectively educate students about the importance of adopting more sustainable clothing habits and help them improve their current practices?"
Interviews
After deciding, we conducted interviews and found that students lack knowledge on the proper disposal of items and the importance of sustainable practices, particularly in clothing choices. We shifted our focus to educate students on these aspects, aiming to bridge the information gap and promote mindful clothing choices.
Ideation
01
Interview Reflections
02
Common Themes
03
Brainstorming
Ideation Steps
01
Interview Reflections
02
Common Themes
03
Brainstorming
To foster a sustainable clothing culture at UVA, we delved into multiple potential solutions. Initially student-focused, our interviews revealed a common theme: a desire for active participation in reducing clothing waste.
We've incorporated avenues for involvement, such as the swap-and-shop feature and highlighting various Charlottesville locations. Furthermore, respondents emphasized the necessity for enhanced education on clothing sustainability, leading us to integrate UVA-specific facts and statistics to address this concern.
Prototype
We finally landed on our idea: Threads at UVA. This is a website, inspired by theCourseForum, promotes clothing sustainability by including facts about clothing waste, having an interactive forum for student clothing swaps, and a list of places in Charlottesville to shop secondhand! Using Threads at UVA, students can learn about the importance of clothing sustainability and how to be sustainable, themselves!
Testing and Iteration
What feedback did you gather?
Overall, our user feedback was positive. Users felt the website was professional, easy to navigate, and friendly overall. Two suggestions we received were to one, reformat the display of information on the home page and two, make the swapping page more aesthetically pleasing.
What improvement did you make or needs to be made in the future?
We listened to our users’ comments of reformatting the home page so that the graph is more at the forefront of the page so its now larger and thus easier to understand and read. In addition, in an effort to make the swapping page more aesthetically pleasing and more efficient, we used AirTable to display the clothing pieces available for swapping and purchasing. In the future, we would like to launch an app that makes the swapping and purchasing process that much easier for our users.
Lessons Learned
Sarah
“I learned the importance of improving my work based on feedback. Throughout this program and this research process, we’ve been given feedback every step of the way which made the process that much easier and successful. Not to mention, I learned the importance of giving feedback, as well, in the form of constructive criticism.”
Lessons Learned
Jaiden
“I learned the importance of teamwork. Throughout this program and the design process, we’ve been allowed to work together and grow as leaders, alternating through different roles in the design process. Not to mention having to use our teamwork skills to better our communication skills to successfully create this platform.”
Chelsey
“I realized I enjoyed collaborating with a team about a topic that we were all passionate about. Dedicating time towards this project did not seem like work at all. Overall, I found that communicating with the team and delegating ideas is essential ”
Lessons Learned
Thank you so much!
References
1) https://sustainability.virginia.edu/materials-waste#:~:text=Our%20waste%20footprint%20%E2%80%93%20approximately%2015%2C000,24.4%25%20of%20the%20waste%20generated.
2) https://sustainability.virginia.edu/blog/second-hand-shopping-cville