We.Redo
The solution to pioneer a more sustainable way of producing Napapijri garments
2ND PLACE
Design future product service system solutions around the Napapijri product line based on the principles of circular economy.
Napapijri hosted a Creativity 4 Circularity competition and invited a few designers to help design future solutions for their Infinity Jacket line. Our team developed We.Redo and placed second in the competition. I was responsible for creating the service, conducting user research, and designing the mobile application.
My role
Digital Product & Service Designer
Team
Lucia Vigenago and Federica Guazzioni
Duration
4 months
Current clothing systems are unsustainable...
The current system for producing, distributing, and using clothing operates on a wasteful "make and dispose of" model.
It contributes to 10% of global gas emissions...
emitting 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually...
that is more than those of all international flights and maritime shipping combined.
It is estimated that some garments are discarded after just seven to ten wears.
We need a new system...
How do we keep clothing garments in longer use?
EMPATHIZE & DEFINE
Understanding Napapijri's Gen Z users
The Napapijri team briefed our team on their goals and how their current service with their Infinity Jackets works. Our goal is to develop an innovative service system to produce and distribute Napapijri's Infinity jackets following the principles of the circular economy. But how? Before we jump to the "how" we need to know who are we creating this service system for. We need to understand Napapijri's users.
"Gen Z no longer forms opinions of a company solely based on the quality of their products/services but now on their ethics, practices and social impact."
Gen Z
We research Napapijri's Gen Z users, collecting quantitative and qualitative data. We discovered that Gen Z values sustainability and social innovation when it comes to committing to a brand or company. They seek transparent and impactful experiences that affect their habits and behaviors.
According to McKinsey & Company, about 65% of Gen Z try to learn the origins of anything they buy, such as where it is made, what it is made from, and how it is made.
"They are more interested in brands that provide them new skills, online tutorials, brand experiences that offer educational contents and improve their skills (to create middle to long term relationship)."
-Elena Marinoni (Trend Forecaster at Nextatlas)
Young female activists
According to Napapijri, its market is predominantly male. How can we attract more of the female market? We researched the Gen Z female market and Gen Z females' involvement in social activism. We discovered that Gen Z females are the most active when it comes to social change and sustainable activism, but aren't confident in their ability to improve social change. According to the Millenial Impact Report, fewer females say they believed strongly in their ability to improve social challenges through their actions than did males.
Napapijri's market
70%
Males
30%
Females
Believe strongly in their ability to improve social change
65%
Males
41%
Females
How can we empower and motivate young females to become part of Napapijri’s mission towards sustainability and social impact in fashion circularity?
IDEATION
We.Redo - future of sustainable fashion
What
We.Redo is a product and service that focuses on extending the product life of Napapijri’s Infinity Jacket through a new sustainable system. The system provides visibility and opportunities for disadvantaged females to become part of Napapijri's mission towards sustainability and social impact.
Why
-
Helps the Napapijri brand refocus its values towards sustainability and social impact.
-
Build transparent relationships and encourage good consumption behaviors from Napapijri users.
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Engage Gen Z users in Napapijri's Infinity Jacket development process (offline and online channels).
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Supports and builds a diverse community of strong women who work, motivate, and educate each other about the importance of environmental and social impact.
How
We.Redo service has three main offerings: We.Care, We.Redesign and We.Women Fund. All three offerings are accessed on the mobile app. The three services contribute towards extending the product life of Napapijri's Infinity Jacket and supporting women to become part of the brand's mission. Ultimately, the service's mission is to provide opportunities in education, mentorship, and creative platforms for women to build their confidence, strengthen their leadership skills and stimulate their creativity.
We.Care
Drop-off
Track Napapijri Jacket
Pick-up
Trade-in
Rebuy
Redesign
We.Redesign
We.Women Fund
Volunteer
Discover events
Donate
Sign petitions
How does We.Redo apply circular economy principles?
We.Redo adopts a new service system that focuses on reducing, reusing, and repairing Napapijri's product lines. The current Napapijri product cycle already focused on extending the life cycle of their Infinity Jacket, but We.Redo enhances the existing cycle by presenting a new alternative way to access goods, new business models, and unique services that enrich the product.
PROTOTYPE
We.Redo app
We choose to create an app for mobile devices because according to Global Web Index, 98% of Gen Z own a smartphone and 55% of them use their smartphones for 5 or more hours daily. On the app, our goal is to provide users access to our 3 core services: We.Care, We.Redesign and We.Women Fund. We want the user to be able to track their Infinity Jacket once they've traded it into Napapijri. It is important to keep the users involved in the development process, where they can see how their Jacket gets redesigned and who is part of the project.
High-fidelity prototype
The first design of the We.Redo app was built for iOS. After some research, I found that the majority of Italian citizens (36%) are using a Samsung smartphone. Thus, I decided to redesign the app for Android users following the Material Design Guidelines.
Final outcome
The three services, We.Care, We.Redesign and We.Women Fund, contribute towards extending the product life of Napapijri's Infinity Jacket and supporting women to become part of the brand's mission
1.
Repair and wash your Infinity Jacket to extend its life
To encourage customers to keep their Infinity Jackets longer, We.Care offers repair-and-wash services. You can book to clean or repair your jacket with a We.Care worker. You can also read the background of the We.Care workers.
2.
Track your Jacket after you dropped it off for We.Care
Once you drop off your Jacket at a local Napapijri store, you can track it on the app to see its progress. If you have any questions, you can contact a We.Care worker.
3.
Deconstruct and recreate your jacket into a new product
If you trade in your Infinity Jacket, We.Redo will send it to the We.Redesign Program to recreate the Jacket into a new product by deconstructing the existing patterns and reconstructing them. You can browse and buy the redesigned collection and the proceeds will go towards the We.Women Fund. You can also read the stories behind who help redesigned your Jacket.
4.
Support and educate the female community
We.Women fund helps build transparency and trust among female communities through volunteering and donating for sustainable and social causes. You can partner with non-profits to support disadvantaged females and females from underprivileged backgrounds by providing financial support for them to become leaders of future change.
Outcomes
Due to Covid, we were unable to present our project to Napapijri in February. Instead, we submitted our project online. After many months of deliberation, it was announced that our project was awarded second place, receiving Napapijri merchandise and a certification. Initially, our project was scheduled to show at Salone del Mobile, but was put on pause due to Covid. Napapijri will open its first company-owned Milan store in Piazza Cordusio and hopes to showcase our project for the PR launch. We are still waiting for further news on this and hope to see our project being integrated into Napapijri's sustainability strategy.
Reflections
Takeaways
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Define better personas and user needs
At one point during our concept ideation, we were steering away from our project brief and business goals. We needed to work towards the requirement of the brand of circularity and sustainability. Revisiting our personas and user research is important to make sure we are focusing on what is essential.
Challenges
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Adapting to external factors
Because Covid hit Italy in January, our team had to work remotely and our project was due at the end of January month. We were looking forward to pitching our ideas in person and creating an installation. Instead, we had to convert the project digitally and submit it online.
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Defining roles and organizing a schedule
This competition took place simultaneously at the same time as our academics at Politecnico. It was difficult to balance the workload for both. Our team individually had a busy schedule and it was challenging to find a consensus on when to meet. Having clear and transparent communication was important, especially when our team had to work remotely once Covid hit.
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