Swap It Like It's Hot

Inspiration

We found inspiration when looking at the intersection of sustainability and interactive media. We initially brainstormed ideas on how to engage more of the WashU community to recycle. While recycling is important, reducing overall consumption was at the root of all of our problems. This is where we came to the idea of creating an app that fosters a sharing community and implementing change. Swapstl is located in the South 40, however it is not always available. Our app allows users to search for and swap items 24/7.

What it does

Provides a comfortable user experience that enables users to swap items online, promoting sustainability through decreased consumption. Swap It Like It's Hot is available for any college campus and other communities. Users also can educate themselves on best sustainable practices and terms. Users can post items to swap online and other users can double tap on the post, which will get them in contact with the 'seller'. Our platform and swapping is completely free and ad revenue goes towards organizations dedicated to sustainability and climate change.

What we learned

We learned how to efficiently work together to create an MVP (minimum viable product), even when our schedules didn't align. We also learned how to correctly populate our databases given user input, which would in turn create a personalized user experience.