twyg – Modern, sustainable living

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Spinning a local yarn for designer Mzukise Mbane’s cotton dress

11 November 2019|Jackie May

Imprint ZA’s 100% South African cotton dress was a showstopper at the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards. The attention-grabbing dress was largely inspired by an Imprint ZA African bridal gown that was nominated as the Most Beautiful Object in South Africa 2019. Its silhouette resembles that of Victorian-inspired African dresses worn by Namibian Herero women. When model Julia Ntkiese arrived at the awards event, she captured everyone’s attention. As planned. In August,…

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Long Read: Do we possess our possessions or do they possess us?

8 November 2019|Bruce Hood

In 1859, around 450 passengers on the Royal Charter, returning from the Australian goldmines to Liverpool, drowned when the steam clipper was shipwrecked off the north coast of Wales. What makes this tragic loss of life remarkable among countless other maritime disasters was that many of those on board were weighed down by the gold in their money belts that they just wouldn’t abandon so close to home. Humans have…

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Nature is centerstage at arteBOTANICA’s Nirox springtime takeover

6 November 2019|Petra Mason

As humanity seemingly heads towards extinction it’s hard not to be completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of climate change. Don't feel gloomy. With arteBOTANICA’s inaugural showcase taking place at NIROX Sculpture Park on Saturday, South Africans have the opportunity to celebrate the relationship between art,…

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How can we support sustainable fashion? Johannesburg fashion academic offers her advice

5 November 2019|Reporter

On our mission to create and inspire sustainable lifestyles, we chatted to fashion design academic, Desiree Smal. Besides her on-going teaching, she has written a doctorate on sustainable fashion in South Africa and continues to research the issue here and internationally. We got her advice…

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Amanda Laird Cherry tells this season’s story with a collection of upcycled second-hand garments

25 October 2019|Jackie May

At the ALC Apparel reception desk is a framed quote by the label’s founder, Amanda Laird Cherry: “Those who think of clothing in terms of this or next season’s fashion are missing the point a little. The fabrics and cuts we wear tell us about…

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Dorcas Mutombo made 1066 scrap fabric flowers for her statement jacket

21 October 2019|Reporter

A finalist in the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards, Dorcas is a fashion student at Elizabeth Galloway. She embellished a jacket with 1066 flowers made from scrap fabric. Here she tells us about her decision to be a fashion student, entering the real work world and…

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Artwork ‘Floating, Flying’ Asks That People Be Treated with Respect

1 October 2019|Jackie May

Turkana, in the far reaches of Northern Kenya, is a stark, arid region and home to the world’s largest desert lake. The area, long neglected while Kenya instead focussed on its green, agricultural south, is now the centre of a scramble for oil and water.…

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Six Things You Should Know About The True Cost Of Fast Fashion

30 September 2019|Chloé Mikolajczak

From crop tops to mum jeans and bombers, fashion trends are making their way into wardrobes around the world faster than ever, thanks to social media, its thousands of influencers, and the enormous business opportunity it represents for brands. As for consumers, being trendy has…

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Meet the Trio Who Weaves Fashion Waste into Fashion Fabric

24 September 2019|Stella Hertantyo and Masego Shiho Morgan

You’ve read stories about upcycling, recycling and reconstructing unused clothes to avoid them reaching the dump. But have you thought of what happens to the textile waste that is left on factory floors during the making of our clothes? Many hundreds of thousands of tons…

ideas

Greta Thunberg: “Change Is Coming, Whether You Like It Or Not”

24 September 2019|Greta Thunberg

This is the full speech that Greta delivered at the UN Climate Action summit in New York on Monday: This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be standing here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come…

awards

Winners of the inaugural Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards announced

20 September 2019|Reporter

Finally, the night arrived to celebrate and recognise local designers' who innovate and create beautiful, sustainable fashion.The inaugural Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards event attracted more than 100 designers, retailers and environmental activists at the Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town last night. Seven awards were…

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awards

2019 Nominations Are Open

Innovative Design and Materials This award seeks to recognise a designer who has used techniques that minimise textile waste through innovative pattern cutting, the use of pre- and post-consumer fabric waste, and / or reconstruction techniques. The award also seeks to recognise a commitment to using sustainable fabrics in a collection. All submissions must demonstrate the extent to which materials have been sustainably sourced. Trans-seasonal Fashion Award This award recognises…

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Future of Fashion 2019

Fashion Revolution is an international campaign advocating for a fashion industry that values people, the environment, creativity and profit in equal measure. This year on the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster six years – when a clothing factory collapsed, killing 1,138 people and injuring many more – we will discuss solutions and interrogate alternative ways of producing fashion. You will learn what the Fashion Revolution does, why it does this,…

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Rethink the Bag

Did you know that South Africans use about 8 billion plastic shopping bags every year! Research shows that these bags are used for just 20 minutes before being thrown away and at the moment, most plastic shopping bags are not recyclable. Once in the sea, plastics travel to even the most remote corners of the planet. The latest United Nations Environmental Programme report on single-use plastic explains that high concentrations of plastic…

Tour

Shop guilt free in Cape Town

This fabulous full-day sustainable shopping tour in Cape Town is far more than just retail therapy. We know that traveling, in general, isn’t the most eco-friendly activity, so being mindful of how you spend your money is important. In fact, well spent it can make an enormous difference to your carbon footprint, and to people’s lives. There is no need for you to worry about background checks. We’ve done this for…

survey

Sustainable Fashion Design

In our efforts to reduce the negative impact of fashion, Twyg would like to establish what sustainable practices South African fashion designers are implementing and how we can grow the movement of responsible fashion production and consumerism. This survey will help us identify the strengths and weakness of our industry. Sustainability is a complex subject, and it is difficult to define the extent of efforts in creating sustainable fashion. But armed…

event

Langa Fix Week

This is a MAKE SMTHNG Week initiative to challenge current consumer culture. This global movement invites you – instead of going shopping - to spend quality time with friends, family and, in this case, the Our Workshop community. Our Workshop is a communal space in Langa where people teach each other new skills and fun, creative and beautiful ways to make the most of the resources around us: "by sharing,…

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Future of Fashion 2018

Fashion Revolution is an international campaign advocating for a fashion industry that values people, the environment, creativity and profit in equal measure. Last year two million people engaged with Fashion Revolution. Over 113 000 people asked brands #whomademyclothes. On the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster five years - when a clothing factory collapsed, killing 1,138 people and injuring many more - we will discuss solutions and interrogate alternative ways…

campaign

Let’s talk about sex

How does menstruation affect girls' education? It affects menstruating people to a large degree. Firstly, if one is living in a place where there are not many resources, such as money for the over-priced sanitary products available to you, chances are you will get to a point where you have to decide whether you will buy bread for the family or provide your child who is menstruating with products. Many times…

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