Skills:
UX/UI Prototyping
Visual Design
Creative Direction
February 2020 - Present
SHADE — An anti-greenwashing web plugin
SHADE is an AI-powered web-extension that enables consumers to find sustainable fashion online across the web. As Head of Product and Design, I have taken SHADE through multiple production stages from the initial ideation, engaging with stakeholders, growing our marketing, and iterating to deliver the SHADE available today. You can find it in the chrome store or learn more from our website.
Context
Digital marketing accounts for 66 percent of fashion companies’ total marketing budgets. As global attention turns towards sustainability, greenwashing has become a deceptive marketing strategy in the fashion industry- suggesting the companies themselves are doing more for the planet than they actually are.
Opportunity
In a world where 3/5 of consumers intend to shop more sustainably and ethically, only 1/5 are able to do so. The data is out there to break misinformation cycles while promoting conscientious consumer behavior.. SHADE focuses on this opportunity at the unique point of online shopping.
SHADE breaks the barrier between users and insider information of the fashion industry by bringing 3rd-party research to the surface of users’ online shopping experience.
In 2019, it is estimated that online sales accounted for 14.1% of retail purchases. By 2023, this is projected to grow to 22%. Meanwhile, GenZ consumers have shifted the habits and trends of shopping- establishing a focus on value-based alignment. This trend has incentivized companies to label their practices and products as ‘ethical’, ‘sustainable’, and ‘transparent’, but without regulated guidelines, it’s impossible to know if these companies are following through on their word. Consumers, who lack the time and access to research the companies behind the product, can easily be misled and exploited.
SHADE represents authoritative, third-party data about brands to consumers while they shop, enabling them to make at-a-glance decisions with the option to dive deep and learn more. It’s designed to prioritize the ratings of brands clearly and loudly whether shopping on websites with multiple brands or single-brand stores.
As consumers start to make informed decisions, they can also utilize the recommendation engine of SHADE to find similar sustainable alternatives to whatever they browse (fashion products, or otherwise. My favorite is using it on celebrity fits!)
Ultimately, SHADE is designed to make values-based shopping accessible and easy for consumers. On the left, a consumer learns and finds an alternative to a sustainable product using SHADE, and on the right, our user is left trying to make sense of the google searches of brands (let alone able to find an alternative).