Giving new life to old and discarded rubber is what drives Paarl-based maker and creator, Roché van den Berg. She works magic with old rubber. She started her upcycling business Roche. Recycle....
Fashion
What’s the stitch? How to shop, buy and wear to last
Here’s a quick thought experience. In your closet, what is the item you’ve had the longest? No cheating with wedding dresses or sentimental baby clothes - it needs to be an item you can or do still...
SA Fashion Week: Lucilla Booyzen’s labour of love comes of age
Everyone in the SA Fashion Week office in Rosebank is wearing black. Founder and director Lucilla Booyzen is trim, her neatly cut red hair lightly touches her shoulders. She wears a cardigan, black...
These yoga pants are made from recycled plastic bottles
Spiritgirl Active Wear, a South African brand, uses recycled polyethylene terephthalate bottles to create fun, yoga wear. Founded by Leigh Sarembock and Rochele le Roux in November 2015, they have...
This season’s jewellery is an ode to the ocean
Two new collections of jewellery, one released recently by SMITH Jewellery and the other by PICHULIK, speak to summer days and happiness, both feature seashells and refer to memories of the sea. At...
What’s the Stitch: Ready to take the vegan challenge to your wardrobe?
‘What’s the Stitch?’ is a new monthly column by Emma Jones-Phillipson about dressing sustainably in our modern age. She’ll pair critical insights into the environmental and social impacts of the...
Floating into Summer in Sitting Pretty
You know how the promise of summer feels: days are a little longer, the temperature slowly gets warmer, once every few days we have a teasingly perfect day followed by a colder one…It’s not long now...
How a love for knitting led to the launch of new knitwear label Wrapt
On the small mezzanine level of a house in Johannesburg, the Wrapt team is busily working at knitting machines. It’s been a few months since they joined Hannelie Bekker’s new knitwear label but...
Part 2: Extract from Dirty Fashion report: why viscose production needs to transform
When Dirty Fashion was released in June last year, most of us woke up to the horrific production processes of viscose. The Changing Markets Foundation which researched and compiled the report has...
Part 1: Find out what is being done about viscose’s dangerous chemical pollution
We all love the feel of viscose. It’s soft and luxurious to the touch. So, it shouldn’t surprise you much that after it was first commercially produced in 1905 it was often called “artificial silk”....
Will WWF save the planet by selling one polyester jacket at a time?
You may have seen the World Wildlife Fund’s promoted posts on Facebook and on Instagram. WWF South Africa has launched a technical apparel project in South Africa. I’m a huge fan of innovation in...
Ben Nivison’s new textiles are woven yarns of two cultures
In the Kullu Manali Valley valley lies Bhutti, a small hard-to-access village on the foothills of the Himalayas in Northern India. It’s here you’ll find one of the world’s last hand-weaving...
Take a look who will be showing at the Helsinki Fashion Week
With a few short weeks to go before the eco Helsinki Fashion Week, there is growing excitement about this big and relevant event happening in a small Nordic country. Founded by Evelyn Mora, the...
Emma Longden sits pretty with natural fabrics
A curiosity about fabric is what sets her brand apart, says fashion designer Emma Longden. Her team, she says, "is always learning about textiles". Since the ethos of Cape Town-based Sitting Pretty...
Closet Wise: Five ways I’m making my wardrobe more sustainable
For five months, Luanne has been studying, writing and reading about sustainable fashion. Closet Wise is a bi-monthly column about her journey to becoming a sustainable shopper. When you decide to...