Clean & Proud
Setting a Malawian Social Enterprise up for Success
Clean & Proud is a non-profit social enterprise rooted in Malawi, Africa. The founders, Beatrice and George, set out to tackle the ever-growing waste management crisis in Mzuzu and subsequently made a huge impact on their community.
The Question
How might we propel this non-profit forward in a way that’s sustainable?
Clean & Proud is a community-facing project that collects and recycles local waste and educates the community through outreach programmes. The team is made up of local residents who are permanent, trained on site, paid a fair wage and supported in many ways beyond employment. The waste that the team recycles is transformed into stand-out products that are sold under the customer-facing fashion brand, &Proud (previously C&P).
When my friend Ash and I came across Clean & Proud, we knew that we had found something special. We identified that we could help the non-profit clarify their purpose and share their story — so we approached Beatrice and George to offer just that. A few months (and zoom calls) later, we found ourselves on a flight to Malawi to offer our skills to this promising enterprise.
Within the first week, Ash and I quickly got to grips with the unreliable power and unstable Internet. Being on-site was invaluable because we were immersed in the lived experiences of the team and community. Building relationships with members of the team meant we gathered a holistic understanding of the social, economic and cultural context too. This project encouraged me to challenge my assumptions, adjust my expectations and adapt my processes — and I feel incredibly lucky.
The Approach
With a firm eye on sustainability, team feasibility and the tight budget, I brought the team through a full design-thinking process — from Discover to Deliver. The rapid and iterative process moved us from inspiration to ideation, and back again. Throughout the process, I facilitated engaging and productive workshops and co-designed sustainable solutions.
DISCOVER
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DISCOVER •
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→ From chatting with the team to mapping the competitive landscape.
→ From surveying retailers and customers to shadowing the team.
→ From workshopping with the founders to seeing the impacts of the waste management crisis in Mzuzu.
→ From challenging my cultural assumptions to learning how the business (really!) runs.
→ From identifying the challenges at hand to appreciating its context.
DEFINE
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DEFINE •
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→ From developing proto-personas to mapping customer journeys.
→ From framing problems as questions to scoping the project.
→ From differentiating between the project and brand to challenging the business model.
→ From exploring and establishing a value proposition to developing a strategy for the project and brand.
DEVELOP
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DEVELOP •
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→ From evolving the community-led project to pivoting towards a fashion brand with a rename.
→ From developing and refining products to clarifying product architecture.
→ From iterating solutions to developing brand sketches.
→ From challenging solutions to selecting them based on their desirability, feasibility, viability and sustainability.
DELIVER
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DELIVER •
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→ From collaborating on brand actions and assets to documenting the products and process.
→ From agreeing on the brand roll-out strategy to onboarding and co-designing it with the team, to ensure sustainable change.
→ From handing our work over to measuring its success.
What We Found
We uncovered the following pain points and opportunities:
01 Overall the business had no clarity or direction. There was no differentiation between the project and brand: Where did the project end and where did the brand begin?
02 There was no flexible system to allow for new ideas. To future-proof the enterprise, we needed a space for innovation to evolve.
03 The community-led project was barely surviving. We needed to create more &Proud revenue in order to have a bigger impact for the community
04 There was very little engagement and interaction from customers. This led us to wonder, who are our customers? Where should we be found?
05 It was found that in-store and online customers needed consistency, information and trust to convert ‘observers’ into ‘buyers’.
06 Sales were disjointed. We needed to consider other ways to create consistent sales.
Clarity and structure is what we needed.
What We Transformed
Our solutions were simple because that’s what they needed to be. We put the team, the community and the &Proud customers at the heart of every decision. The biggest transformation we made was for the team. By developing a clear vision and streamlining the systems, we enabled them to focus on what matters most — growing the project.
We hope to increase project awareness and &Proud product sales, through new retailers, corporate orders and collaborations. With increased revenue, Clean & Proud will have a bigger impact on their community — they will be able to recycle more waste and do more outreach programmes… Measurement in progress!
Day to day: What did we do?
01 Research + Strategy
→ Mixed-method, customer and retailer research
→ Project and brand strategy
→ Re-brand rollout strategy
02 Structuring + Naming
→ Differentiation between project and brand
→ Brand re-naming
→ Product architecture and naming
03 Brand Experience
→ Customer experience (eg. order confirmation email)
→ Retailer experience (eg. catalogue)
04 Branding + Communication
→ Project and brand storytelling content
→ Project and brand visual identities and systems
→ Photography: Team, process, local suppliers + products
→ Product branding, label system and packaging
→ Website (UX and UI)
→ Social media assets
→ Market display branding
→ Retailer catalogue and point of sales
→ Re-brand roll-out product insert
05 Sustainable Solutions
→ Lessons on updating the WordPress website
→ Lessons on creating consistent brand assets on Canva
→ Lessons on capturing content for Instagram reels
→ Lessons on photographing products with the new system
→ Plan for gathering customer research
What I learnt
Patience — With constant power blackouts and very limited access to Internet, I learnt to be patient and to flex to these new conditions and culture.
Resourcefulness — Working with a non-profit with very little funds and keen to have a low impact, I learned to work with what we had (sometimes from the floor!). Scouting for models at the local market and ironing the clothes from our suitcases for photoshoots became our norm.
Adaptability — Being truly immersed in the business meant we got a crystal clear understanding of how things work. My process and expectations had to adapt as we spent more time with the team.
In Collaboration with Ash Murphy
Ash is a talented Identity Designer. She has a natural aptitude for uncovering and expressing a brand's personality. Bright and bubbley, I'm priviledged to call her my friend.
Having not collaborated before and with seemingly very different approaches, Ash and I were eager to see how it would all unravel. We completed the project pleasantly surprised(!), so much so, that we are sniffing out our next move.
Details —
Self-initiated pro bono
Date: February — April 2022
Team: Collaboration between myself and friend, Aisling Murphy
This work was selected for the 2023 100 Archive