shESG

Inspiration

High awareness of ESG products VS Low sales of ESG products Through extensive consumer research, more than 2000 survey respondents, and 30 in-depth interviews, we found consumers' intentions for ESG consumer products are indeed rising. However, a vast gap between "purchase intentions" and " real purchase actions" still exists: People who purchase ESG products are still in the minority, mainly due to the three obstacles below:

【Price】ESG products' premium price compared to non-ESG ones.
【Value】Poor value recognition of health, safety, environmental friendliness, and social consciousness values represented by ESG consumer goods, especially among younger generations.
【Channels】Weak sales channels: Hard to find ESG products (no ESG labels) on mainstream e-commerce websites and physical retail stores.

Thus, tackling the three obstacles mentioned above and then effectively promoting ESG products to a broader range of consumers became our aspiration for the shESG app.

What it does

Our app, shESG, is an easy-to-use tool to effectively promote ESG products on a larger scale through social media content creators. To address the issues mentioned above, we provide the following solutions：

【Tackling Price】: shESG introduces a unique social-commerce model where creators endorse ESG products to their followers. This strategy allows direct sales from suppliers to consumers, reducing layers of costs usually associated with traditional e-commerce models. In turn, it can make ESG products more affordable for consumers.
【Addressing Value Recognition】: shESG leverages the power of influencers who are passionate about sustainability and social responsibility.The integration of ChatGPT helps in analyzing and matching the most relevant ESG products with a creator's posts, thus ensuring a high degree of alignment with the creator's content and values.
【Improving Sales Channels】: shESG links global ESG product websites to the app, allowing consumers to easily find and purchase these products. The seamless integration of social media posts with direct product links further simplifies the purchasing process, making it easier for consumers to shift their preferences towards ESG products.

How does it work for content creators?

After content creators registered and opened the shESG, a few things happened:

【Accurate ESG product recommendation 】our system will automatically offer a list of personalized ESG products that enables them to effectively promote to followers.
【Fast link generations】Once content creators have chosen ESG products, the product link will generate in seconds, and all they have to do is to post the links on their homepage and explain the ESG philosophy.
【Worry-free Order Fulfillment】When the follower places the order. shESG will be responsible for order fulfillment.
【Quick commision release】 Once the Creator's followers place an order to purchase the product, these creators can earn commissions Please refer to the demo video for more details on how shESG works. > shESG project Video Presentation

How we built it

Architecture

The shESG project is divided into three main components: front-end, back-end, and data&algorithm.

【Front-end technology stack】: We utilize the Vue framework. For the UI, we use Bootstrap Vue, HTML, and CSS. The project development relies on Node 14+, Vue, vue-cli, Axios, and Vuex.
【Back-end technology stack】: We use Java as the development language, following the MVC architecture. The project development relies on OpenJDK v11, the Maven environment, spring-boot, and mybatis.
【Data&algorithm】: At present, we use MySQL. We also leverage the ability of ChatGPT to obtain product features and Creator features, and then recommend related products. ### Product design
Figma was used for creating mockups of the app, as well as the apps graphics. ### Screenshots of demo
For the MVP version, we implemented it using an adaptive H5 solution, and then tested the program on the safari browser of an iOS phone, where we took working screenshots of the app.

Try it Yourself!

Quick start related introduction content is from 00:01:00 to 00:01:45 of the video

shESG Architecture+Quick start+Demo video

Clone this repository to your local machine, please run: shell git clone https://github.com/MyyTeam/Shesg.git

Add support for Docker and Docker Compose: 2.1). Install Docker, link: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ 2.2). Install Docker Compose, link : https://docs.docker.com/compose/

Navigate to the project directory.

Execute the following commands in the project directory: The service occupies port 80. Please make sure the port is available. shell docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml up -d

Open in any browser: After the service starts, the browser accesses shESG, which is your Application HostIP.

Challenges we ran into

In the development of shESG, we encountered several challenges.

First, understanding the nuances of the ESG product market and the varying preferences of different creators and consumers was a complex task.
Secondly, integrating AI technology such as ChatGPT into the platform to analyze creator characteristics and match ESG products effectively presented its own unique set of technical hurdles.
Lastly, building a user-friendly interface that caters to a wide range of users, from creators to consumers, demanded significant time and resources.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Despite the challenges, we are proud of the accomplishments we've achieved with shESG.

Notably, we developed an MVP that incorporates advanced AI technology to provide an innovative solution in the ESG market.
We've established partnerships with a broad range of creators and ESG product suppliers, and created a platform that encourages the promotion and sale of sustainable products.
Moreover, we are proud to have initiated a new social commerce model that empowers creators, pleases consumers, and provides opportunities for ESG product suppliers.

What we learned

Throughout the development of shESG, we learned a lot about the emerging trends and preferences in the ESG market, particularly among younger consumers. We gained insights into the powerful influence that creators can have in promoting products and values. On the technical side, we learned how to integrate AI technologies like ChatGPT into a commerce platform to match products with creator posts. Moreover, this project taught us the importance of user-friendly design in facilitating easy and efficient use of our platform by all our end-users. We also understood the importance of scalability and adaptability in a technological product, which we prioritized in our project design.

What's next for shESG

What's next for shESG?

Currently, we possess a functional Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that showcases the potential of our shESG platform. While in its nascent stages, the product is designed to be scalable, allowing it to reach wider and larger populations sustainably. Here's what's next for shESG:

On the Business Front:

Creators' Expansion: Leveraging the influence of the APEC platform, we aim to showcase our Creators, inviting more fans to join and thereby magnify the impact of their influence. This helps expand our network of engaged and socially-conscious audiences.
Supplier Inclusion: As part of our future strategy, we plan to introduce more manufacturers within the ESG industry to our platform. This will enhance the diversity and scale of our product offerings, expanding our reach and influence in the ESG marketplace.

On the Product Front:

Empowering Creators: We intend to employ the capabilities of ChatGPT to assist Creators in auto-generating ESG promotion content that better resonates with their followers. This will be based on the Creators' original text, images, videos, and fan interaction content, thereby improving the attractiveness and relevance of the promotional content, ultimately encouraging more Creators to adopt this model.
Boosting Suppliers: Coupling with AIGC solution(such as StableDiffusion), we aim to innovate the display formats of ESG products, thus attracting more traffic exposure. For instance, upon receiving authorization from the Creators, we plan to use their personas to create product display images that match their style. We will also provide them with product combination recommendations, ultimately promoting these through AI-generated images and videos in social commerce contexts.

Our shESG APP inspires confidence among both Creators and Suppliers. We believe that it will play a pivotal role in supporting the recovery and sustainable growth of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in the APEC region. By providing them with an efficient and socially-responsible platform for product promotion and sales, we're not just boosting their business potential but also contributing to the larger mission of sustainable and inclusive development across the APEC economies.

Thank you.