My project idea

OVERVIEW: For my project idea I would like to create an app which calculates the carbon footprint created by the clothes you purchase, depending on it’s fabric. I would call this app "Wardrobe Footprint".The app would be able to scan the fabric and identify the fabric type, or even scan the tag on the clothing to read the label and calculate the carbon footprint. After calculating the carbon footprint the app would suggest the best way to recycle or upcycle the clothing. The app would also suggest brands that have sustainable clothing and uses materials that have less damaging effects on the environment.

MOTIVATION: The reason I am creating this project is so that everyone can start shopping sustainably easily and efficiently. The concern over how the fashion industry is impacting the environment is growing over time. There have been many studies to show the amount of carbon dioxide that occurs during the production of clothes. Around 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide is produced by the textile industry which is more emissions than international flights and maritime shipping^1. This calls for those buying clothes to make more sustainable decisions when purchasing clothes. Different fabrics that are used in clothes have different carbon footprints. The percentage of different fabrics used in clothing will also change the carbon footprint left behind. It can be difficult in the moment of shopping to find out how much of an impact you are having on the environment while shopping, this tool will be able to help people achieve that.

DESCRIPTION: This service would be presented in an app format, this is mainly as it is more convenient for people who are shopping and don’t want to look up a whole website. This app will have multiple features for the user: There will be two scanning features provided. One scanner is for scanning labels and the other scanner will be fore scanning fabric. The first scanner is able to identify what fabric is written on labels. The second scanner will scan the fabric and attempt to identify what fabric it is. By taking a photo of the fabric the app will try to match the fabric to what it has already identified as cotton, polyester etc. Another feature of this app would be able calculate your carbon foot print by you physically entering the fabric composition of your clothing without the scanner. The scanning feature and entering feature is mainly for convenience so users who may have little time can scan and continue shopping whereas others who may have more time or are online shopping can enter the fabric composition. The first scanning feature would need to be able to convert a image to text. Another feature the app would have is a page which shows which brands are sustainable and should be supported and which brands to avoid. This would help guide users on which brands to shop at so that they can reduce their carbon footprint. There would also be an analytics page that shows your weekly or monthly (whichever you choose) carbon footprint based on your spendings on your clothing. There will be another feature which presents a weekly insight into the progress being made in the world towards sustainable fashion. Another feaure on the app would be an information page on how to lower your carbon footprint and how to sustainably recycle/upcycle your clothes.

TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY: To create the app itself I would use react native to create a cross platform app. To create the label scanning feature I would create my own optical character recognition (OCR). OCR is a software technique which is allows devices to convert images to text so that apps or websites can process the text. I would use Tesseract OCR which is a windows 10 software that can convert typed words directly to text by just using your phones scanning feature.

SKILLS REQUIRED: To use tesseract open source I would need a strong command over the programming language Python. In Tesseract I would neeed to preprocess images of physical text so that the scanner is more accurate when converting the image to text. To preproccess the images I would need to use python + tesseract using a script. Different backgrounds of text will have different effects on the scanners ability to process the image. There may be spelling mistakes etc. To use react native you need to know the fundamentals of java script to develop the app.

OUTCOME The project serves to allow more people to be aware of the impact they are having on the environment from the clothes they purchase. Once users see the carbon footprint they are leaving behind on the planet it would encourage users to shop more sustainably. There are also many resources that suggests ways to shop ethically. This project will will educate and motivate people to be more aware of their shopping habits and help improve their environmental savviness