The Swapshop is a chain of stores all about swapping clothes and other fashion items. The Swapshop offers a circular alternative to the linear model of consuming and discarding clothing. In this way, we reduce the unnecessary waste, overconsumption, and additional pollution within the garment industry.

Not all items that come in at our shops are suitable for swapping. Sometimes they are worn out, damaged, or out of date. Per month, 500-800 KG of non-swappable textile remains in the stores of the Swapshop. Half of this textile (250-400 KG) is wearable, so suitable for donation. The other half is not wearable.

We are creating a product line that offers a circular solution for the 250-400 KG non-recyclable textile. The first product in this product line is a sustainable and recyclable laptop sleeve that is made here, in the Netherlands.

The first step in creating a circular and sustainable laptop sleeve is to have a better understanding of our market. Therefore, I made a survey on design choices, pricing, and future reparation services. In total, 86 participants answered the survey. It became clear from the results that almost all participants live with sustainability principles in mind and would give up some of their comfort. The key findings from the questionnaire are as follows:

The key findings from the survey are as follows:

• About the design of the laptop sleeve, participants could be divided into two groups: One group prefers a laptop sleeve with pockets, straps, and other accessories, and the other wants a minimalistic laptop sleeve.
• 50% of the participants would pay 31-45 euros for a sustainable laptop sleeve.
• 63% of the participants Participants would rather have a reparation service over a discount for a new product. However, many participants mentioned that offering reparation as a service could be seen as if the product itself is of bad quality.

After analysing the results I began with visualing ideas.

We use the key findings to make new design choices. We decided to go for a minimalistic laptop sleeve (no extra pockets), because the cost of creating a circular sleeve is already 30 euros (which does not include the material cost yet) and participants do not want to pay more than 45 euros.

Our most important goal is to extend the life of our products as much as possible (e.g., ten years) before it gets recycled. To achieve this, we chose three design strategies to work by:

• Design for durability:
  We want to create products that last long and match its ecomonic and stylistic lifespan.
• Design for ease of maintenance and repair:
  As concluded in the key findings, participants prefer a reparation service over a discount. For this reason, we will create a unique repair service based on swapping.
• Design for attachment and trust: We want users to create a bond with our products. We want to achieve this by showing the history of the product to the user and to be transparent about materials, origin of the materials and the production journey

I have made three concepts that use these strategies and metrics. Each concept has been tested in a focus group session.

We asked nine participants to join our focus group session. During this session, we discussed various topics like being transparent about the origin of materials and the production journey through a QR code. Other topics that are discussed are pricing, reparation services, and design concepts.

For this entry, I will only discuss the key findings regarding the design concepts. The participants from the focus group indicated that:

• They are not a fan of personification. Many mentioned that writing a personal message or their name is unnecessary. This was not desirable unless you could "erase" this.
• The usage of secondhand clothing and inside-out options or ties to the bag is overkill and would make the design undesirable.
• They love a minimalistic design. Almost all participants agreed that the Inside out design is the most appealing, thanks to its minimalistic design.
• They want to pay a maximum of €30-45 euros for the laptop sleeve. This matches the findings from the survey.
• The design does not have to be visibly sustainable, but what makes them buy the sleeve is us being transparent about the origins and trust in to the company.

Since all focus group participants were big fans of transparancy and a minimalistic design without extra elements, we will incorporate the impact and story into the campagin and a QR code (on the sleeve).

We will use the clutch design to build further on. The next addition to this design will be a QR code that leads the user to a new website with material information and the reparation service. Currently, we are developing a user journey to map our envisioned ideas.

As mentioned before, we will create a new reparation service. This service will be based upon the premise of swapping clothes, do-it-yourself reparation, and reparation done by The Swapshop. We are exploring how these three elements can fit together to create a unique way of prolonging the life of our products.

Interested in this project and want to know more about it? Send me an email :)!