Designing A Behavioural Eco-Product
JORDAN BOOSTED REPEAT ECO BUYS BY 51%
“TWA behavioural design is a must-have-implementation for any buisness- we just happen to be green!”
TWA helped us turn intention into action with smart nudges and frictionless design. Now our customers go green without hard thinking.
Best decision we’ve made!
Industry: Sustainability sector, Product & Service
Client: Confidential
THE PROBLEM
Despite a growing market for sustainable alternatives, one eco-tech company struggled to increase uptake of its compostable household products. While users loved the idea of sustainability, behaviour lagged. Sales plateaued. Repeat usage was low.
The product was good. The brand values were sound. So what was the barrier?
Upon review, the company believed it was a marketing issue. But The Wellbeing Agent team saw it differently: this was a behaviour design challenge.
The Real Barrier: The Intention-Action Gap
Consumers frequently intend to make eco-friendly choices—but daily life doesn’t always support those intentions. Known in behavioural science as the intention-action gap, this disconnect occurs when friction, forgetfulness, or social context overwhelms motivation.
In early interviews and usability testing, we observed:
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Customers said they cared about sustainability
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But they defaulted to familiar, less sustainable options during purchases
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Few returned for refill purchases, citing “inconvenience” or forgetting the brand existed
The issue wasn’t apathy. It was cognitive overload, poor friction design, and a lack of environmental nudges.
OUR APPROACH
Embedding Behavioural Design into the Product Journey
Our behavioural science team kicked off with a rapid ethnographic and digital immersion sprint. This was followed by a restructured journey map grounded in COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation – Behaviour) methology and various Behaviour Models, both behavioural design tools used to diagnose friction in decision pathways.
We then mapped interventions around 3 stages:
1. Design for Decision Simplicity
The checkout experience was redesigned to default to the sustainable version, requiring opt-out rather than opt-in. This leverages status quo bias, where people tend to stick with the presented default.
2. Timely Triggers & Cueing for Repeat Use
Through light gamification and contextual reminders (like push notifications aligned with household routines), we supported timely cues and habit formation. Small wins (e.g., “You’ve prevented 3kg of plastic waste this month”) helped reinforce intrinsic motivation.
3. Social Proof X Personal Identity
Eco-friendly behaviours were reframed from “sacrifice” to “identity expression.” Users saw messages like “82% of customers in your area chose the compostable option.” We tapped into descriptive norms and social identity theory to reduce friction and increase belonging.
Prototyping with Purpose
We built interactive product mockups and journey prototypes, testing with a behavioural lens: Would this nudge feel effortless? Does the user know what action to take next? Are they motivated, or just reminded?
Visual cues like progress bars, recycled impact meters, and a “green streak” tracker were tested across versions.
Results
Post-intervention, the product saw:
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+36% increase in sustainable product selection
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+51% repeat purchases within 60 days
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+22% brand recall and preference
Even better: over 80% of new customers didn’t realise they had made a “greener” decision—because it was frictionless and designed by default ensuring scalability. As part of the final phase, we trained the internal design and marketing team in behaviourally informed UX, ensuring long-term impact beyond the campaign.
We also co-developed a lightweight Behavioural Audit Framework for future rollouts- grounding future decisions in evidence, not guesswork.
A diagram showing the redesigned user journeyfrom first exposure (digital ad), through cart defaulting, trigger-based notifications, to repeat purchases and reward feedback.
Reflections for Sustainability-Focused Brands
Changing the world doesn’t always require changing minds- it often just means changing environments.
Designing green products is just the start. Designing for behaviour is where the real shift happens.
By reframing eco choices as the easy, and social ones, brands can close the intention-action gap and create more sustainable futures-quietly, powerfully, and behaviourally.