Innovating Sustainable Fashion Supply Chain Solutions With Blockchain
Innovating Sustainable Fashion Supply Chain Solutions With Blockchain
Project Overview
Over a 36-hour hackathon, my team and I built VeriThread, an app that won first place in the category of Best Use of Blockchain. The platform brings transparency and accountability to the fashion industry supply chain by securely tracking garments from source to end-user using blockchain-powered smart contracts.
How did I add value?
As the only designer in our group I took on multiple critical roles. I created the information architecture framework, led the design and concept of the project. While the team focused on development, I stepped into the role of project manager, coordinating tasks, maintaining timelines to deliver a final product in under 36 hours.
How can we expand and innovate on the current applications of blockchain technology?
We were determined to think outside the box and create something unprecedented that addressed sustainability while also being a viable business model.
Greenwashing: the practice of misleading consumers by falsely portraying products as environmentally sustainable without making substantial efforts to reduce environmental impact.
How can we help brands reduce their environmental impact while inspiring users to make sustainable choices?
We know that fast fashion comes at an astonishing environmental and social cost. But how much do we really know…
Fashion production is responsible for anywhere between 4 - 8.6 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
93% of brands surveyed by Fashion Checker do not pay garment workers a living wage, keeping them in poverty cycles
20% of global wastewater is produced by the fashion industry, primarily through dyeing and textile treatment processes.
The extent of what user’s see in the current garment cycle:
We wanted a way to reveal every step of the manufacturing process, revealing the true story behind every thread:
VeriThread is a platform that allows buyers to view the journey of a piece of garment from source to end-user using smart-contracts built on the blockchain.
Purchase
Each registered garment would have it's own unique blockchain id
Gamifies the Shopping Experience
User scans this unique code and is automatically able to add this clothing into their closest similar to collecting a physical artifact as an NFT.
Browse
Browse through companies that have partnered with VeriThread, shopping through clothes that have been verified through the tracking system
Discover the journey of every garment
Rather than assuming users understand investment terms and setup, consistent onboarding is provided for all users.
Product tours and tooltips highlight unfamiliar terms and features.
Why on the blockchain?
How would fashion brands benefit from collaborating with VeriThread?
Why would consumers use this?
As the only designer on the team, I was tasked with making the milestones and requirements of the app in order to meet the MVP of the product within the time constraint. The high-level information architecture included a home page, collection of scanned clothes followed by other modules that focused on the ethicality of each individual garment and garment journey.
These are ethical frameworks that have clear criteria, enforceable standards, and measurable impact:
Fair Trade Certified / WFTO
Measures: Living wages for workers
Allows users to set financial goals in clear categories with consideration to timing.
Create a seamless and intuitive experience that allows users to invest their money effectively while simultaneously working toward their financial goals.
Give users opportunity to learn including videos, articles, and interactive quizzes.
We knew our target demographic were Gen-Z new grads therefore the design should use bright, vibrant colours with bold, modern typography and playful illustrations such as lemons and emojis.
I chose lemons as our theme, tying into the phrase "when life gives you lemons…" aligning with the concept of making lemonade, which our app represents taking control of one’s finances and turning small investments into financial growth.
The colours are used to differentiate the app's features; for example, the learning hub is represented by yellow, while the goal-setting section primarily uses blue.
I decided to use a mix of sans serif and serif for the header and body
Goal-Setting
Organization and goal-setting made simple
Users are guided through a smooth and intuitive onboarding process that makes setting long-term or short-term goals effortless, with clear prompts and visuals to keep them focused and confident.
Comfort in Chaos
Spending 36 hours with complete strangers, fuelled by caffeine and adrenaline, reminded me of the late nights in architecture school—where exhaustion and creativity somehow coexist. I learned more than I could’ve imagined about the workflow of developers—how they think, and bring ideas to life. Watching my designs transform into a functioning MVP in real time was humbling, it forcing me to embrace practicality over perfection. It was exhausting, messy, and completely worth it.
Balancing Creativity and Viability
I realized that this project wasn’t just about coming up with a cool idea—it was also about finding solutions that could actually work as a business model. I had to shift my focus from pure creativity to thinking about long-term sustainability. Like a mental balancing act: the idea had to be innovative, while also asking questions like, “Would this work in the real world? Could it generate revenue?” It was a new challenge for me, but one that forced me to see the bigger picture, and I’m glad it did.
THE FUTURE OF VERITHREAD
If Verithread were to ship, I’d look at metrics like number of brands partnered, Monthly Active Users (MAU), the number of verified contracts, and how often users scan products to track engagement and transparency. Ultimately the key determining factor of the success of VeriThread would be to see how many brands have actually improved sustainability practices after partnering with Verithread.
With more time, I’d focus on building out a robust design system, refining success messages, and ensuring system feedback reinforces trust and usability across the platform.