Softly spoken during most of our conversation, Betty Chilonde becomes animated when the topic turns to circularity and the potential of fashion in Zambia. Betty is not only a designer. She is also...
Features
Fabric of change: Mozambican designer Wacy Zacarias fixes textiles with healing plants
When Mozambican designer Wacy Zacarias realised that most African textiles were not really African but imports from Holland and China, she shifted her focus from fashion design to reclaiming...
Private planes, mansions and superyachts: Why billionaires have such a massive carbon footprint
Tesla’s Elon Musk and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos have been vying for the world’s richest person ranking all year after the former’s wealth soared a staggering US$160 billion in 2020, putting him briefly in...
Vanessa Nsona is designing a circular future for Malawi
Vanessa Nsona collects waste, tinkers and toys, to prototype and make new products. Circular thinking is central to her work in Malawi. “I have always thought of waste as treasure,” she says. I...
Moreblessings Moyo: A street vendor in Harare who does more with less
Makadikko, avandi Moreblessings Moyo. Mama Moreblessings is my new comic book character. Read her story here: Moreblessings Moreblessings works as a street vendor in Harare, Zimbabwe, hustling to...
Open Letter: Dear Fashion Industry, Let’s talk about waste.
In an open letter to the fashion industry, Liz Ricketts cofounder of OR Foundation insists there can be no sustainability revolution without justice throughout the global supply chain. She has has...
Beyond the Age of Waste: Meet the designers creating a circular future in Mauritius
Mahendra Gooroochurn lives on an island that Mark Twain supposedly compared to paradise on earth. Was Twain right? In Mauritius, people of diverse cultures live in harmony, near blossoming pink...
Q&A: Zizipho Ntobongwana on how her film ‘Indlela Yethu’ decolonises sustainability
According to Zizipho Ntobongwana’s instagram bio she is decolonising sustainability. Not only is she an entrepreneur with a business that produces 100% organic cotton and biodegradable menstrual...
How Joburg designer Matthew Edwards is innovating a circular materials future
Designer Matthew Edwards holds a three-dimensional cube in the palm of his hand. It is small with smoothed-over jagged sides. The deep blue and white colours dance together as if swirling in a slab...
Q&A: House of Canvex turns recycled plastic bottles into interior textiles
House of Canvex is a six-year-old interior textiles business based in Durban, South Africa with an ethos developed around creating quality products "without sacrificing local connection and...
New study finds polyester fibres throughout the Arctic Ocean
The Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial...
Meet the storytellers exploring the future of circular design in Africa
Design Futures Africa is a collaborative project between Twyg, storytellers and the British council using the power of narrative to further the reach and understanding of African designers....