From Clicks to Conscious Choices. The plug-in that makes ethical shopping effortless.
Project Type
Case Study
Case Study
UX Research
In a world where buying takes just a click, the real cost is often hidden; paid by people and the planet.
Overview
Ethical Lens is a browser plugin designed to transform the way people shop online. In a marketplace built for speed and convenience, Ethical Lens adds consciousness back into consumer decisions by instantly rating products based on ethical standards like sustainability, labor practices, and environmental impact. It empowers users to shop with awareness, suggesting better alternatives when needed, without interrupting their flow. This project reimagines how ethical choices can be seamlessly woven into the fast-paced digital shopping experience.
My Role
As the sole designer and researcher, I led the project end-to-end, conducting:
User research
Competitive analysis
Ideation
Wire framing
Prototyping
Usability testing, and
Iterative design refinement.
I worked across both UX strategy and UI design to ensure that Ethical Lens was intuitive, impactful, and integrated naturally into the online shopping journey.
Finding the Problem
To kick off this project, I began by exploring the broader world of online shopping to find opportunities worth investigating. I wanted to understand not just what people were buying online, but why they were choosing to shop that way in the first place.
So I mapped out a typical shopping journey, inspired by a very real (and slightly odd) story of someone trying to buy dog deodorant. (I sincerely hope this isn't a common need... but it turned out to be a great conversation starter.)
Based on this journey, I outlined a few specific questions to guide my first round of interviews:
What frustrates people when they can’t find products in physical stores?
What makes an online store feel like the best place to shop?
How do discounts or promotions influence purchasing decisions?
What role does convenience vs. trust play when people are choosing where to buy?
These questions helped me start real conversations with users; not to test solutions, but to better understand their motivations, pain points, and shopping behavior.
After conducting user interviews, I synthesized the findings by categorizing insights into needs, pains, desires, and observations.
Through this process, I uncovered a recurring but often overlooked pain point:
Some users actively try to avoid unethical stores, but feel frustrated because brands often hide or manipulate information to secure sales.
Some interesting thoughts from the interviews
Competitive Analysis:
What's Missing Today?
After identifying ethical transparency as a recurring frustration for online shoppers, I saw a potential opportunity:
What if ethical information could be made more accessible?
Before jumping into solutions, I paused to explore how other tools and platforms were already addressing this space.
Doing a competitive analysis at this point helped me validate the opportunity, if others are trying to solve it, that means it’s real and worth exploring further. But it also let me see where existing solutions fall short, and where there might still be room to do better.
Direct
Good on you website/app
DoneGood website
The Good Shopping Guide website
Indirect
Google Search – Users manually search “Is [brand] ethical?” or “best sustainable [product].”
the YouTube/TikTok Reviews – Influencers breaking down sustainability of brands.
Reddit Threads – Communities like r/sustainablefashion or r/ethicalconsumer for peer advice.
Key Findings
Opportunity Gap
This analysis confirmed a major opportunity:
While some tools provide ethical information, most require users to leave their shopping flow, dig through external sites, or trust unclear or inconsistent rating systems.
There was no seamless, real-time solution that met users where they already are, inside the shopping experience itself.
This insight validated the opportunity space and set the stage for ideating a better-integrated, user-centered solution.
The Big Idea
Before narrowing down a solution, I took a moment to imagine the change I ultimately hoped to create:
"Every person in the world would have easy access to a store’s ethical guidelines, product materials, labor practices, and real customer reviews, allowing them to shop ethically and support fair businesses while ensuring quality purchases."
Having a strong end goal wasn’t enough. I needed to stay critical and curious.
A great idea means nothing if people won’t actually use it.
At this stage, I was still exploring:
Would this idea truly fit into real shopping habits?
Would it solve a problem in a way people found natural and worth using?
Digging Deeper Through User Conversations
With those big questions in mind, I went back to the source: real people.
I conducted a second round of interviews, this time, focused specifically on ethical shopping habits, trust in brands, and how people make decisions when information is unclear or unavailable.
Findings
Pain Points
Many don’t trust brands that label themselves as "ethical" without proof.
Real evidence of the impact or of the problem is needed.
Worry that ethical products won’t perform as well as their preferred brands.
Some have tried ethical alternatives and been disappointed.
Opportunities
They are willing to pay more IF they clearly understand why.
Ethical options are often harder to find, slower to deliver, or unavailable.
Finding reliable ethical alternatives takes too much effort.
Overall
Users value transparency.
Users will prioritize their needs and wants over ethical products but they would be willing to make them fit if it was easy
Finding the Right Solution
After my second round of interviews, one thing became increasingly clear: people want to make better shopping choices, but they’re not willing to slow down to do it.
That insight became a guiding principle for everything that followed:
The solution had to integrate seamlessly into the existing shopping experience, without creating friction or forcing users to change their behavior.
In other words, if ethical shopping was going to work for everyday users, it couldn’t feel like homework.
With that in mind, I moved into ideation. I explored a wide range of possibilities through sketches, Crazy 8s exercises, and rapid brainstorming sessions, pushing myself to think beyond obvious tools like websites or comparison apps. I kept returning to the same constraint: the solution needed to meet people exactly where they already shop.
After evaluating several ideas against user needs and design goals, one concept stood out:a browser plugin that could surface ethical product information in real time, as people browse, compare, and make decisions.
It would empower users to shop with more intention, without slowing them down or requiring extra effort.
This idea became the foundation for Ethical Lens.
The First Prototype
Testing the Solution
At this stage, I wasn't conducting formal usability testing yet; I was still validating the core opportunity and effectiveness of the solution concept.
Through early prototype feedback and user conversations, I focused on answering two key questions:
Am I addressing a real, meaningful opportunity?
Is the solution — the plugin — effectively solving the problem for users?
First round testing insights
Initial feedback suggested that the solution resonated with many users, but it wasn't universally effective.
Digging deeper, I uncovered important differences between user groups:
For some, Ethical Lens provided exactly the kind of quick, accessible ethical information they wished existed.
For others, the concept felt unnecessary; either because they didn’t prioritize ethical considerations, or because they preferred to "trust their gut" or buy from familiar brands without further research.
Bottom line: is this a real opportunity? This is still unclear; we must gather enough positive responses to validate the need for this product. This question will follow through the next stage. Is the solution effective for the problem? Yes, if this is a real problem, the solution is effective.
Iterating and Refining the Solution
The following findings from the test allowed me to improve the prototype. Overall, people were confused with the rating system and wanted to see more cohesiveness across the platform.
Prototype Improvements
Try the prototype
Second Round Testing Insights
After refining the Ul based on early feedback, the second round of testing showed clear improvements.
Users found the plugin easier to interpret, more intuitive to navigate, and overall more embedded in the shopping experience, exactly what it needed to be.
Conclusion: The Ul works.
If this product were launched today, the interface would hold up.
The technical solution now effectively addresses the problem of inaccessibility and confusion around ethical shopping information.
The most valuable insight from this phase wasn’t just about usability; it was about alignment with the audience.
Among all participants, Julia emerged as the clearest representation of our ideal user:
Someone who already cares deeply about environmental and ethical practices, but currently relies on self-led research, Google searches, or scattered websites to shop according to her values.
Her feedback validated that Ethical Lens has the potential to be a powerful tool, not for everyone, but for people like her:
Curious, proactive, and intentional shoppers.
Often Gen Z or younger Millennials.
Already care about ethical consumption, but want to make better choices with less effort.
This second round confirmed that there is a viable niche market for this product; one that isn’t well-served by existing solutions, and that would find real value in Ethical Lens.
Lessons & Next Steps
This project taught me that designing for ethical shopping isn’t just about presenting information; it’s about meeting the right users at the right moment with the right tone.I learned how important it is to question not just whether a solution works, but who it’s truly for. While the plugin proved effective in solving the problem it set out to address, it also revealed a key truth:
This is not a universal problem. It’s a niche one, and that’s okay.
If I were to continue this project, my next steps would be:
Conduct deeper market research into people like Julia; intentional shoppers who care about ethics but want tools that make values-based decisions easier. I would create screening surveys to identify and recruit the right participants for further interviews and testing.
Validate the opportunity within this niche: How big is it? What’s their behavior? What do they need most?
Build high-fidelity wireframes and move toward development with a clear product vision.
Collaborate with marketing to position Ethical Lens toward our most likely adopters, and drive actual downloads.
Ensure product alternatives match users’ original price expectations, maintaining both ethical and financial alignment.
And if I wanted to take this in a new direction?
I’d step back and ask a different question:
How do we make people care about ethical shopping in the first place?
That could open the door to a completely different product; one rooted not in information delivery, but in shifting culture, values, or incentives. A new journey, but grounded in everything I’ve learned so far.
