Project under construction
In the meantime, here’s a brief overview of the work.
WM × Under Armour Garment Waste Dashboard was developed for an industry-sponsored challenge at Thomas Jefferson University. The project was sponsored by WM (formerly Waste Management), supported by EON, a digital ID provider, and run in partnership with Under Armour. It asked cross-disciplinary student teams to develop sustainable practices for end-of-life apparel.
Garments are hard to sort because what matters isn't visible. Fiber blends, trims, washes, and finishes all affect whether a garment can be recycled, and most of that information is lost once a garment leaves the store.
Existing identifiers don't survive a garment's life.
Care labels get cut off because they irritate the skin, and printed QR codes fade after repeated washes. The challenge wasn't just sorting garments; it was making sure the information needed to sort them was still there at the end.
Our team of 8 brought together fashion design, merchandising, industrial design, and UI/UX. I was one of two UI/UX designers, and my background as a fashion designer shaped how we understood garment construction and the nuances a sorting system has to account for.
After researching fabric innovation and testing options, we landed on RFID threads woven into the garment. They hold far more information than a label or QR code and can't be cut off or washed away.
With the technology in place, the question became what a dashboard should reveal, to whom, and why. The solution was designed across three levels: sorting at WM facilities, waste visibility for brands, and engagement with customers. We started with WM, designing a view that surfaces garments tracked, landfill diversion, material composition, and recovery routes, so sorting decisions are driven by what a garment is actually made of.
Selected as the winning team among four cross-disciplinary teams
Presented to a panel of experts from WM, EON, and Under Armour
Customer-level experience explored as a future phase
Full Case Study coming soon.