Kente is a prestigious royal cloth of Ghana’s Asante people, part of their historical and cultural heritage. But there’s a debate about where it originated: the Bonwire community or the Adanwomase...
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Why the world fell in love with artist El Anatsui and his quiet critique of global consumption
The artist El Anatsui was born in Ghana and has spent the bulk of his career in Nigeria, but is a citizen of the world. News of a major new installation of his work coming to the prestigious Tate...
Q&A: Heath Nash of Our Workshop on upcycled festive lights
The Langa-based studio, Our Workshop, made these incredible festive season lights for the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. Our Workshop is a free, shared space where young people get together to...
Long Read: Do we possess our possessions or do they possess us?
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...
How can we support sustainable fashion? Johannesburg fashion academic offers her advice
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...
Greta Thunberg: “Change Is Coming, Whether You Like It Or Not”
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...
What We Did This Plastic Free July
For the month of July, the nationwide #PlasticFreeMzansi campaign addressed the careless use of plastic. Led by WWF South Africa, The Beach Co-op and Twyg, influencers and volunteers focussed on...
Everyday heroes weigh in on the war on plastic
Have you ever wondered why certain types of plastic bottles are plucked out of your rubbish by “trolly-preneurs” every week? These informal recyclers are looking for PET bottles that can be “sold”...
Circular Economy: Inspired by Nature for Nature
We live in a throw-away culture. Globally, people throw away about 3.5 million tons of waste a day – an estimated 880 000 tons of this is plastic. Businesses produce goods for sale and the packaging...
20 ways to cut plastic and other waste from your bathroom
Have you had a good look at your bathroom recently? Plastic everywhere, isn’t there? Now that it’s Plastic Free July, try Helen Moffett’s tried-and-tested plastic-free grooming habits. The published...
Why you should give up these 3 items this Plastic Free July
Peter Ryan has been studying the impact of plastic on marine life since the 1980s. Here he explains why The Beach Co-op, WWF South Africa and Twyg are challenging South Africa to give up certain...
Kenyan innovation team wins Global Change Award for stinging nettle fibre
By now most people interested in fashion have heard of orange fibre, fungi fashion and grape leather. The teams behind these innovations were previous winners of the Global Change Award founded by...
Make it Better: Join the climate strike and Fridays for Future movement
Until very recently I held the belief that we were all responsible for the environmental breakdown and climate change we’re currently experiencing. I believed that if we multiplied the small actions...
Our Workshop: Township studio wins Design with Purpose Award
Before making his way to Our Workshop in the morning, Luvuyo Mpoza has already been up since 3am cleaning rubbish bins in Langa, a Cape Town township. When he started his small business almost eight...
Artist Robyn Penn reflects on a warming world
One of the most bewildering aspects of climate change is that, until your house has been burnt down by a runaway fire or until you’ve had to evacuate your city due to a flash flood, it remains an...