I wanted to contribute in the movement against the wasteful fashion industry and shift the paradigm towards sustainable alternatives.

WEAR is a Clothing Swap App with circular economy as the foundational approach. Swapping clothes within your local community will help to reduce the consumption of new products and directly have a positive impact by saving production carbon footprint and waste. 

Problem Statement

The fashion industry is an ever-changing fast paced system. The endless consumption and production of apparel, shoes and accessories is directly contributing to environmental damage and social inequality. 

The annual global clothing production for 2015 utilized to 98 million tonnes of raw materials and with consumption rates increasing, the rate of production is predicted to double by 2050. With approximately 78% of the textile waste ending up in landfills, only 21% of the waste are being re-used, resold or recycled. Once in landfills, the textiles may release toxic substances into groundwater and surrounding soil. 

We wear, we are, we are what we wear. The South African proverb Ubuntu meaning, I am because we are. I believe we are all interconnected within the bigger system of our modern structured lives. We share our space, services, decisions and indirectly our futures with each other every day, but we are disenfranchised from community. Every person in today’s society is wearing clothes. We all participate in fashion as cultural hybrid phenomenon, which we can shape with small changes.

Design Opportunity

The Circular Economy model, established by the Ellen McArthur Foundations, introduce the shift to the circular approach that help reduce the negative impact of the current linear system, by reintroducing waste as resources and expand the life cycle of products and regenerating natural systems.

How Might We connect users of second hand clothing with one another to extend the donation culture into an exchange culture and reduce clothing waste?

Community closet located in local public spaces. The purpose of the closet is to make the swap as convenient for both traders, while offering users the opportunity to touch and interact with the clothing live.