SusMate: A community driven app to fight the greenwashing epidemic in fashion.
ROLE
Product Designer
TIMELINE
Oct - Nov 2024
SKILLS
Product design
OVERVIEW
In 2020, I co-led a study on greenwashing awareness among Singaporean youths. While 60% identified as "conscious green user", only 27% had heard of greenwashing highlighting a gap between intention and knowledge.
That insight led to SusMate - a concept app designed to help users spot greenwashing in fashion. It combines verified sustainability claims, crowdsourced reviews, and educational content to make ethical shopping easier and more trustworthy.
OUTCOMES
100%
task completion & positive reception
Supporting long term business goals
Potential to explore B2B partnerships and to scale beyond the fashion industry
INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
Verifying whether a brand is truly sustainable is time-consuming, inconvenient, and often unreliable. Unless users are willing to do deep research, they’re left guessing and most give up altogether.
I ran a one-week research sprint that included interviews with 5 participants and deep dives into forums like Reddit to uncover real frustrations. These are my 3 key takeaways:
CONCEPTUALIZING THE PROBLEM
How might we derive a simpler, more accessible and collaborative way for users to increase their confidence shopping online?
I explored four initial directions, and quickly mapped the ideas on an effort vs impact matrix. The social app concept stood out as it was high-impact, community-focused, and a strong foundation to eventually integrate other features.
TESTING & ITERATION
From the start, I prioritised a simple, familiar interface to avoid overwhelming users, especially those new to sustainability.
FINAL DESIGNS
From onboarding, to verifying, to connecting.
A friendly animated splash screen, with a little brief on what the app is and what it can do.
Prioritize what matters to you, empowering you to make your own decisions based on available information.
Your journey to sustainability doesn't have to be lonely!
EDGE CASE
What happens when data is unavailable?
Prompt the user to submit what they know, and offer other options for reliable brands
REFLECTION
Even the most complex problems, like greenwashing, come down to one thing: emotional connection. Through this project, I learned that good design isn’t just about features; it’s about building trust and clarity for real people.
I also learned how to prioritize ruthlessly, build fast, and iterate even faster. Startups don’t wait for perfect, they test early and learn as they go. That mindset shaped every part of SusMate, from idea to prototype.