EnRoute: Iterative Design and Evaluation of a Mobile App for Lower-Carbon Fashion and Transportation Choices

Abstract

EnRoute is an iOS application designed to support more sustainable everyday choices in transportation and fast fashion consumption. We describe three design iterations and the user research and field evaluations that shaped each one. Interviews with 15 people from 12 countries informed Version I, which combined errand route planning with basic fashion guidance. A survey of 1,200 people in five countries found much stronger interest in sustainable shopping (78%) than in switching to lower-carbon transport (46%); respondents most often named limited public transport as the main barrier to lower-carbon travel. We therefore narrowed the focus to fashion. Version II added item-level garment scanning with a manual-entry fallback, a Sustainability Coefficient that rates items, and recommendations of more sustainable alternatives; in a two-week evaluation with 3,021 participants in eight countries, participants randomly assigned to receive a short tutorial and educational prompts viewed more recommended alternatives and reported larger gains in purchase intent than those without it. Version III shifted from "buy better" to "buy less," adding a wardrobe inventory, outfit matching, and a "Real Price" that combines cost per wear with estimated environmental and social costs. In a four-week pre/post pilot with 500 participants, self-reported monthly garment purchases fell from 2.9 to 1.9. We report descriptive results, discuss the substantial limitations of these uncontrolled and self-reported measures, and outline what the iterations suggest about designing for sustainable consumption.