Final Year Project
95% of shoes manufactured end up in landfill annually.
StepAgain is a circular trade-in platform addressing sustainability challenges in the children's footwear industry
Final Year Project
95% of shoes manufactured end up in landfill annually.
StepAgain is a circular trade-in platform addressing sustainability challenges in the children's footwear industry
Overview
From fast growth to fast waste: a broken shoe system
This project looked at kids’ shoes, but exposed systemic flaws. Fast growth fuels overbuying, yet fit and foot health are often overlooked.
Parents want to do better, but options are limited. Perfectly good shoes go to waste, with little support for re-use or responsible design.
Challenges
Growth is relentless
Children outgrow shoes quickly, but sizing systems are inconsistent and foot health is often overlooked.
Reuse is rare
Lightly worn shoes are hard to pass on. Wear patterns, hygiene concerns and limited support all stand in the way.
Waste is accepted
Perfectly good shoes are thrown out as parents resort to buying new, not out of choice but necessity.
Problem statement
High turnover in the children’s shoe market, driven by rapid growth and consumer convenience, leads to frequent disposal of wearable shoes. Fast retail, affordability, and limited reuse options worsen the issue, creating unnecessary waste and environmental strain.
Research & prototyping findings
We mapped behaviours and systems to expose hidden forces behind over consumption and shoe waste.
Rapid prototyping helped us test journeys quickly, making reuse and repair feel simple and intuitive.
Co-design sessions shaped features around real family habits, grounding the platform in everyday use.
Designing tools that make
sustainable choices easier for parents
Tools are built around real family routines, making it easier for parents to choose reuse, track needs, and shop more consciously.
We designed features that turn circular actions into everyday habits, rewarding trade-ins, tracking impact, and simplifying sizing.
The interface puts trade-in and size tools upfront, making it easy for busy parents to shop smart and sustainably.
Designing tools that make
sustainable choices easier for parents
Tools are built around real family routines, making it easier for parents to choose reuse, track needs, and shop more consciously.
What I've learned
1. Designing for parents means balancing emotion and practicality:
Speaking to parents helped me understand the emotion behind choices. It's not just about fit, but guilt, and doing the right thing. Personas made it clear that features had to support quick decisions and feel helpful, not overwhelming.
2. Trade-in features only work when they're deeply embedded:
I learned that a trade-in option buried at the end of a journey doesn’t get used. Through prototyping, I realised it needed to be visible early, linked to sizing tools, and feel like a smart, valuable choice, not an extra step.
3. Mapping the journey exposed invisible drop-off points:
User journey mapping showed me where good intentions were lost, especially between awareness and action. It helped me design timely prompts, clearer value at each stage, and smoother transitions between browsing, choosing, and reusing.