Struck by the heaps of textile waste produced by our fashion industry and the social injustice that leaves many women unemployed Justine Engelbrecht, found a solution by combining fashion with social impact.
Situated in East Rand, Johannesburg, Tweak Fashion is a CMT that offers production services to various clients as well as producing products for an in-house label. These include a range of bags, accessories, clothing, and children’s toys. Textile waste from preloved garments, end-of-roll fabric, as well as pre- and post-consumer fabric waste is incorporated in all of the products.
Through a five-phase empowerment programme, Tweak Fashion seeks to mentor and upskill unemployed women, many who are mothers. “The Tweak Fashion vision is to inspire, train and empower women to become entrepreneurs by using clothing waste,” Justine says.
The Tweak Fashion vision is to inspire, train and empower women to become entrepreneurs by using clothing waste
Tweak Fashion has had 10 women in their entrepreneur programme since they launched in June 2021. Going forward, Justine hopes to expand Tweak Fashion to bring more women into the programme and have a bigger space which can be used as a retail outlet for their products and where people can meet the team of women in their training programme. “We believe that by upskilling women we will be playing a small, but vital part in assisting women and mothers to better care for their families, and in turn, uplift entire communities,” Justine explains.
The first phase of the programme begins with cleaning and preparing textile waste for production. The women start with laundry, where the clothing and materials are sorted, weighed and washed, ready to be turned into one of their products. In the second phase, the women learn how to cut fabrics for patterns, cut in a straight line, and start using the machines, making cushions, hair accessories and small bags.
Once they have learnt the basics of using a sewing machine, the women move to the third phase, where they expand their skills with hand sewing, basic embroidery, pattern making, sewing zips and pockets as well as making the toys for Tweak’s initiatives for children. In this phase, the women become comfortable working with industrial machines and learn how to make Tweak Fashion’s product range.
The fourth phase is focused on entrepreneurship training where participants are equipped with the fundamental skills and knowledge of starting and managing a business. Here, the women are trained in business planning, market research, financial management and marketing.
In the final phase, the sewists work independently at home, while Tweak Fashion subcontracts their production skills. By working at home, the women have the flexibility to care for their families and financially support themselves through their own businesses. The graduates from the Tweak programme offer their services to Tweak Fashion as well as offering repairs and tailoring services in their local communities.
In addition to providing skills and setting up businesses for women, Tweak Fashion runs three initiatives for children. These are two toys, Mumpy and Bunny, and a pencil case drive. “Community upliftment is the essence of what we do at Tweak,” Justine says.
Mumpy was a comfort toy for Justine’s younger sister, Penny, who was born with a heart defect. The toy was made by Justine’s mother (Mumpy being a portmanteau for Mum and Penny) to comfort her child. Now, Tweak Fashion has made and donated 400 Mumpy toys for children with terminal illnesses and with special needs. The Mumpy toy initiative has been donated to schools and homes in the local community, such as Impilo Child Protection and adoption services, Little Eden, and Uitkoms Home for Girls. The Mumpy toy is made from repurposed clothing and fabric and stuffed with virgin ball fibre (a polyester fibre usually found in pillow stuffing), making it hypoallergenic. Each Mumpy is unique, made with love by one of the Tweak Fashion sewists who chooses her own fabric and colours.
Their other toy, Bunny is also designed as a companion for children as they transition from kindergarten to primary school. For every purchase of the Bunny, Tweak Fashion donates another Bunny toy to a child in need.
The pencil case project seeks to grant children a pencil case and stationery for the school year. The pencil cases are 40cm long and made by Tweak’s team using fabric remnants, and then filled with stationary to support children through their studies.
We believe that by upskilling women we will be playing a small, but vital part in assisting women and mothers to better care for their families, and in turn, uplift entire communities
Tweak Fashion embodies the central tenet of sustainable fashion: coupling environmentally friendly practices with social enrichment. The NPO’s goal is not only to better our planet, but our communities as well.
Tweak Fashion’s work relies heavily on sponsorships and donations to pay their sewists and to continue running their campaigns. If you want to support Tweak Fashion and the work they do, check out their products or donate on their website.
- Images: Supplied by Tweak Fashion, feature image: Tweak Fashion beneficiaries Grace, Rosa, Helen, Zinhle and Jenny receiving a visit from Queen Indlovukazi and Nkosana NaMsombuka both with Mumpy
