G Star_RAW-4U
G Star RAW-4U
In partnership with:
Developed through graduate-level collaboration with G-Star RAW, RAW-4U represents a strategic circular design solution that upcycles customers' old jeans into customized new products. As research lead and brand/UX architect, I designed the service framework that enables the company that has mastered the art of denim to extend its expertise into sustainable customer co-creation
Year
2019
Client
G Star Raw
Research
What Came B4
The team drew inspiration from G-Star's existing "Art of Raw" campaign, which collaborates with artists to transform denim waste into creative objects, and expanded this concept to include customers as co-creators in the circular design process. Building on this foundation of turning waste into something new and meaningful, the "RAW for U" solution democratizes this creative transformation by enabling all customers to participate in reimagining their old jeans as customized new products.
Corporate Research
Identifying G Star’s Blue Ocean
The Strategy Canvas revealed that while G-Star significantly outperformed competitors (Zara, River Island, Scotch & Soda) in upstream manufacturing and sustainability practices, all brands performed similarly in customer garment care and end-of-life disposal services. This analysis confirmed our hypothesis that G-Star needed to close the loop in customer engagement to maintain their competitive advantage and fully realize their sustainability vision.
G Star’s
Value Proposition
The Value Proposition Canvas helped us understand the disconnect between customer jobs-to-be-done (durability, style, ethical responsibility) and their pain points (care complexity, disposal uncertainty). This analysis revealed opportunities for G-Star to create new value through repair services, care education, and sustainable disposal options, directly informing the development of our RAW for U service platform.
G Star’s Buyer Experience Cycle
The Buyer Utility Map identified critical gaps in G-Star's customer experience, particularly in the maintenance and disposal phases of the buyer journey. While G-Star offered strong environmental utility during purchase and delivery, significant opportunities existed to enhance convenience, simplicity, and environmental benefits during product care and end-of-life stages, informing our focus on post-purchase customer relationship building.
Contextual Research
Cultural Probe
I designed a three-stage cultural probe to understand customer relationships with their jeans, combining an interactive sticker-based survey, discussion questions, and a creative activity where participants envisioned what their old jeans could become. Conducted with 36 participants in an outdoor setting. The probe revealed that most users donate their jeans (demonstrating existing sustainable behaviors), 60% have emotional attachments to their products, and participants were highly creative about upcycling possibilities, suggesting strong potential for engagement with a circular return program.
Affinity Diagramming
Through systematic categorization of participant responses, our affinity diagram revealed three key behavioral themes: customer motivations centered on emotional attachment, fit, and convenience; care habits focused on everyday maintenance, recycling/reuse, and community sharing; and perceived benefits emphasizing sentimentality, durability, identity, and fit. This analysis confirmed that while purchasing motivations varied, universal emotional attachment to jeans over time presented a powerful leverage point for G-Star to facilitate the transition from donation to direct return and recycling.
[The Product & Service]
What is RAW-4U
In-Store Integration: RAW for U begins with prominent in-store displays and staff education about the circular program, ensuring customers understand the full lifecycle value proposition from their first purchase interaction.
Smart Packaging System: The service replaces traditional shopping bags with reusable totes made from manufacturing off-cuts that double as prepaid return mailers, solving waste reduction and logistics challenges while reinforcing the circular message.
Product Tracking Platform: Using existing G-Star serial numbers, customers can track their jeans' complete lifecycle journey online, access care instructions, and receive personalized prompts about return opportunities and customization options.
Return & Rewards Program: Customers earn scaled discounts based on how long they've owned their jeans before returning them, incentivizing product longevity while providing G-Star with valuable materials for new customized products.
Digital Transparency Hub: The redesigned website features an interactive journey through G-Star's sustainable manufacturing processes, making the company's extensive sustainability efforts more accessible and engaging for consumers.
Access to connected online services is achieved through the product serial number that maintains the customer-company relationship even if the product changes hands.
The Customer’s Online Journey
The solution features an integrated online platform that transforms G-Star's existing website into an interactive transparency tool, allowing customers to track their jeans' complete lifecycle using unique serial numbers printed inside each product. This digital system enables customers to access detailed supply chain information, monitor their product's circular economy journey, customize new jeans based on their previous purchase history, and participate in the return program.
Mapping Customer Behavior
I created comprehensive behavioral change maps to design the "RAW for U" platform, which guides customers through a circular journey from initial purchase to product return and customization of new jeans using recycled materials. These maps identified key intervention points to transform linear consumption patterns into circular behaviors, leveraging customer emotional attachment to jeans and existing donation habits to close G-Star's product lifecycle loop.
Multi-Use Innovation
The team redesigned G-Star's shopping bags using manufacturing off-cuts to create a multi-functional solution that serves as a reusable tote after purchase and transforms into a mailing envelope for product returns. This innovative packaging design addresses three sustainability challenges simultaneously: eliminating disposable bag waste, repurposing production off-cuts, and facilitating free product returns to close the circular loop.
Key Partnerships
The RAW for U platform leverages strategic partnerships to maximize impact and create systemic change. A collaboration with Blue Jeans Go Green provides additional recycling pathways for returned products while driving positive consumer behavior beyond G-Star's direct model. The solution builds upon G-Star's existing partnerships with sustainability organizations, including the Plastic Soup Foundation, ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals), and Fair Wage Network. Additionally, we identified opportunities for G-Star to join the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's CE100 network and align with UN Sustainable Development Goals, positioning the brand as a leader in circular economy principles and creating credibility for the new customer-facing sustainability initiatives.
Blue Jeans Go Green convert discarded denim into insulation
Impact & Alignment
RAW for U positions G-Star to achieve true circular economy principles while strengthening customer loyalty through meaningful engagement. The solution aligns with seven UN Sustainable Development Goals and enables G-Star to set new industry standards for sustainable fashion. By transforming customer relationships and product lifecycle management, this platform creates a scalable model for corporate behavior change that benefits both business objectives and environmental impact, demonstrating how design thinking can drive systemic sustainability solutions.
For more information visit the Ellen Macarthur Foundation
