Having conversations that enlarge understanding and establish common ground is one way a climate activist uses to push for greater collective action.
Ufrieda Ho
Harvesting natural dyes with Botanical Nomad’s Ira Bekker
Dyeing from nature and given textiles the colours of the wild are what keeps the Botanical Nomad, Ira Bekker, walking in the woods.
Nigerian powerhouse Omoyemi Akerele champions African fashion and industry change
Nigerian fashion powerhouse Omoyemi Akerele talks about creativity, tough conversations the industry must have and why a willingness to change is non-negotiable.
Thabo Makhetha design nurtures your tribe
Sometimes Thabo Makhetha-Kwinana likes to take a long peek inside her mother’s closets. Those spaces hold stories of tradition and custom upheld in cloth; also reminders that her own history and heritage run through each thread. “When I look at some of those outfits I...
Will COP28 help the world kick its fossil fuel addiction?
Fossil fuels are the elephant in the room at COP28, the United Nations climate conference. It’s the big deal that will be in the small print when the final text from this year’s United Nations climate conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is released in the...
Artist Noluthando Lobese upcycles waste to reframe Johannesburg realities
There’s no such thing as waste without value, not for Noluthando Lobese. The visual artist and set and costume designer sees “waste” materials as toys and as invitations to play and create. Noluthando, also known as “Texture”, is an acclaimed creative who has worked...
Fashion prepares for a climate changed future
“Dressing for the apocalypse” has become only half-jest. A wardrobe built to cope in a world of record breaking temperatures, increased flooding or more unexpected icy cold snaps and fierce winds has become a modern survival necessity. Designers are adapting with a...
The Or Foundation shows us who carries the burden of fast fashion’s failings
There’s a denim jacket in Sammy Oteng’s wardrobe that he has a particular tender attachment to. It’s not that the jacket fits just right, or that it makes him feel a certain way when he wears it. It matters because it represents a personal turning point and the moment...
Rethread Africa turns farm waste into future-fit fabrics
Some deep breaths you take change you forever. For Charles Oyamo it was inhaling the scent of fertile soil from the lands his parents worked in the villages of Migori County in South West Kenya. “People mostly plant sugar cane and corn in this region and the soil used...
What local retailers are doing for sustainable fashion
Four years since the South African textile sector master plan was finalised alarms are ringing that this guiding document needs sustainability goals to be clearer, relevant and climate-smart to be the key to stimulating growth. Back in 2019 when the national R-CTFL...