Next Kid Down
a mobile app for parents to purchase and resell children's clothing

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Project Overview

The apparel industry’s global emissions will increase by 50% by 2030.

More than 183m pieces of kids’ clothes hit landfill each year.

The number of times a garment is worn has declined by around 36% in 15 years.

Raising children is costly, and constantly buying new clothes for rapidly growing kids is financially and environmentally unsustainable. Fast fashion accelerates waste and climate impact, making clothing recycling a practical and necessary solution.

Next Kid Down is a sustainable solution for children's clothing that addresses both the financial burden on parents and the environmental impact of fast fashion. By enabling parents to reuse, recycle, and extend the life of kids’ clothes, the app reduces waste while making wardrobe management more affordable and practical.

Duration

4 Weeks

My Role

UX + UI Design, Visual design, Branding, User flow, Research, Prototyping + Testing

Tools

Figma, Miro, Photoshop

Problem

Children outgrow clothes rapidly, and parents often purchase new clothing frequently, contributing to significant textile waste and environmental harm. Over 183 million pieces of children’s clothing hit U.S. landfills annually, while global apparel emissions are set to rise 50% by 2030. At the same time, clothing is underused, with the average American discarding 81 pounds of apparel per year. Parents need a way to reduce costs without sacrificing convenience, while also mitigating environmental impact.

Goal

Design a user-friendly platform that makes it easy for parents to buy, sell, and swap children’s clothing. The app should extend the life of garments, promote reuse and hand-me-downs, reduce overall waste, and help families save money—all while contributing to a more sustainable fashion system.

Outcome

Families discard ~50–70 lbs of children’s clothes per year. By extending the life of children’s clothing by just nine months through reuse and swapping, families can reduce their carbon, water, and waste footprints by 20–30% per garment.

Through this app, garments could be worn 2–3x more than average; parents could save ~$800 annually; and the percentage of parents who clothe their children in secondhand items could rise from 35% to 65%.

User Interviews

Target Users

They are parents with children ages 0-14.
They are mainly responsible for their kid's shopping.
They are active buyers (weekly, monthly or quarterly) shoppers.
They are are open to the idea of second-hand/ thrifted clothing.
They are currently buying second-hand or would consider it.

Method

In-depth interviews with parents from diverse backgrounds (urban/rural, income levels, family sizes) to delve into their current habits shopping for their kids.

Key Insights

Rapid Outgrowth & Cost Stress

Rapidly outgrown clothing creates financial and logistical stress for parents, especially with different children or genders, and leaves them unsure how to responsibly discard items.

Affordability & Sustainability

Parents are motivated to save money and reduce waste through buying, selling, or swapping children’s clothing.

Barriers & Mixed Feelings About Thrifting

Hand-me-downs or thrifted items are not always accessible due to family logistics, social discomfort, or concerns about hygiene, quality, and style.

Convenience First

Parents want convenience, such as ready-made sets, simple filters, and mobile-friendly platforms, to streamline shopping.

Desire for Guidance & Community

Parents value personalized style recommendations, advice, and interaction, which could make buying, selling, or swapping clothes easier and more engaging.

Trust & Community

Connection with other parents, guidance, and incentives (like rewards or curated closets) increase engagement and trust in the process.

User Persona

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Josh

User Story

As a single dad, I want my daughters to be involved in the process but I need help putting outfits together. It would be great to meet other parents similar to me.

Pain Points

He doesn’t want his kids to lose their individual identity by sharing hand-me-downs. He feels overwhelmed with shopping and doesn’t know much about fashion.

Problem Statement

Josh is a single parent who wants to connect with other parents and get fashion advice to help his daughters develop their own unique style.

Hypothesis Statement
If Josh is able to personalize profiles under the account and curate outfits then he will find the shopping process less overwhelming and his daughters can shop their styles.

“I am alone and had kids when I am older. I don’t know other parents my age. As a man, I don’t know how to style my girls.”

Behaviors
He spends all day at the mall with no guaranteed results. He would love to shop in a way his girls can be involved and can imagine their outfits.

Goals
He wants to give his girls their own sense of identity through clothing but needs help putting outfits together.

User Journey

Josh's Goal: find a full outfit for his 6-year-old daughter

Value Propositions

Affordability & Efficiency

no hidden fees

subscription for bundle delivery

Style

personalized profiles

curate outfits

Community

parent support groups

kids' milestones celebrated

Sustainability

trading system

value-back with resales

Reliability

rating system

image reviews

Accessibility

easy to use

chat for contact

styling help

rewards with stats/ milestones

material review before upload

kid-friendly

filters: location, gender, age

Competitive Market Analysis

to compare how second-hand clothing trading can be managed

Description & Features

Direct competitor
Targets parents of newborns to 6-year-olds
Monthly subscription to deliver monthly bundles of 7 items including a surprise element

Strengths

Attractive branding (logo and color scheme)
$10 credit and prepaid label upon donation
Affordable, balanced bundles with matching sets
Parent reviews and FAQ to build trust

Weaknesses

Cannot see current inventory online
Credit only applied to subscriptions
No customization of bundles or delivery timing
Style profile feature doesn’t work
Website-only (no app), with unclear and repetitive navigation
Forces subscription before allowing account creation or access to reviews

Description & Features

Direct competitor
Targets parents of young children
In-person thrifting and resale marketplace
Only physical stores and limited to the US and Canada
FAQ and multilingual support
Earn-back value system

Strengths

Kids can shop themselves and try items on
Physical presence (store experience)
Accessibility tools (screen reader, keyboard navigation, mousegrid, smart navigation, text reader, voice commands, color adjustments, etc.)
Resell can earn shopper money or in-store credit

Weaknesses

Categories of items listed on website (but no online catalogue or inventory)
No app or online shopping option
Limited store availability (location-dependent)
No centralized online resale platform
Website focuses more on jobs or franchising than shopping
Accessibility tools available but not functional
Store experience varies—ratings depend on individual locations
Poor navigation (e.g., stuck in jobs/owning a store tabs without easy return)

Description & Features

Indirect competitor
Targets shoppers interested in making money selling clothes
Online thrifting and resale marketplace
Poshmark Community for social interaction
FAQ and “How it Works” video with CC

Strengths

Clear buyer–seller process
Search and filters improve discoverability
Distinction between buying and selling while remaining interconnected in sign-up and flow
Can browse available items with production description and seller information

Weaknesses

Online only (no physical presence)
Free shipping only at $700+, undermining the second-hand appeal
Overwhelming number of product listings
Sold items remain visible, cluttering the interface

Description & Features

Indirect competitor
Targets shoppers interested in sustainability and buying circular.
Online thrifting platform (not just clothing and not just for kids)
Can both buy and sell thrifted items
Option to sign up as just a seller
Impact report available
English and Spanish available

Strengths

Search feature and product descriptions
Asks location upfront for tailored results
Easy to read and navigate
Rating system and ability to message sellers and negotiate offers with the seller
Clear brand identity
Shows item location, last login of seller, profile rating, and info board

Weaknesses

Online only
Doesn’t ship to Canada
Limited kids’ focus compared to niche competitors
Buying and selling appear as separate systems
Ads are distracting

Goal Statement

The app for second-hand children’s clothing enables users to buy and sell outfits in affordable, and easy-to-use ways. It supports parents who want to reduce textile waste, save money, earn income from reselling, and receive style guidance. Effectiveness will be measured by tracking the number of active users monthly, the retention rate, average transaction per user, and user feedback.

User Flow

User Task: putting an outfit together and purchasing it

This use task follow's Josh's persona. It indicates a buyer experience. However, buyer and seller experience to be integrated.

Big Picture Storyboard

I analyzed competitors’ buy-and-sell flows. This app will keep both buying and selling visible and accessible at all times. Beyond that, it creates a shared shopping experience for children and parents, while fostering a buy-and-sell culture that encourages social interaction and builds community.

A mailed bundle subscription would prevent social interaction, would disconnect the buy and sell/swap processes, would prevent parents and kids shopping together and would prevent stylistic decisions.

Parent realizes that their child has outgrown their clothes.

Parent and child can shop together. They realize they can also sell the clothes that have been outgrown.

Parent folds the clothes and puts them aside. Parent opens the app.

Parent and child put the clothes up for sale and purchase the new clothes.

Parent scrolls through catalogue of thrifted clothes.

Parent meets other parent for swap.

Site Map

Paper Wireframes

Onboarding Flow

Homepage Ideas

Homepage Final Sketch

Sell Flow

Hub Flow

Low Fidelity Wireframes

Mobile Prototype

Onboarding & Homepage

Buy

Sell

Hub

User Feedback

Onboarding

Language:

Keep language neutral

Profile Setup:

Add a personal info page with the option to skip it.
Allow refresh of images and words if they don't fit.
Include a field for a kid's name
Start with only one child setup; option to add more later.

"The search filter is a good. How can I save it though?"

Sell

Landing & Listings:

Need a landing page to open to, not directly the camera.
Show history/list of published & unpublished items.

Navigation:

"Back to Sell" button instead of "Back to Home" since it's in the bottom bar

"The Match feature is amazing! It is currently buried under the Hub. It needs to be pulled out and highlighted."

Hub

Features:

User wants to add their own blogs, articles and chats
Add "Search Address" under the map to change location

"Why need a home page? What more does it offer me?"

Buying

Features:

Add a "Recently Viewed" section.
Add a "Delivery Type" selection.
Add a dashboard?

Navigation:

A cart page before the Confirmation page.
"Back to Buy" button instead of "Back to Home" since it's in the bottom bar.

Match

Navigation & Layout:

Main page is non-scrollable.
Create a main landing page for this section.

Functionality:

Add “Add from Gallery” (match with existing wardrobe items).
Add keywords to help generate matches.
Add “Add Another Item to Generate” (multiple matches at once).

Subpages:

Aside from the blogs, users want image inspirations: images, look books and a place to see their saves.

"What if I want to buy and match something from my existing wardrobe?"

Site Map 2.0

Listing board has been added.

Homepage has been removed.

Visual inspiration moved under Match to help with putting outfits together.

The Hub becomes a focused community space.

Match feature to help generate outfits added and distinguished as its own page.

Design Kit

The branding for Next Kid Down is playful yet approachable, designed to resonate with both parents and kids.

Color Palette

Green is used prominently in the logo and supporting visuals, while the primary brand color, a vibrant orange (#D54A00), anchors the identity. Both colors are bold and complementary, with their intensity softened by the contrasting soft yellow (#FAF4D2). This balance creates a palette that is bright, warm, and inviting without feeling overly childish.

Accessibility

Accessibility was a priority in the design process. The orange was specifically chosen for its character and because it meets WCAG Level AA standards for large text, graphical objects, and UI components.

Graphics & Typography

The logo and graphics use an animated style to convey energy and friendliness. The typography echoes this identity as well. The expressive Spice Rice is used for the logo, Poppins for headlines and key text for a modern and approachable look, and Inter for body content, ensuring clarity and readability across platforms.