These brands are preserving traditional craftsmanship and supporting local artisans, while using eco-friendly materials and transforming the fashion world’s impact on the environment.
By Audrey Lanshalom Esene
The fashion retail industry significantly impacts the environment, from materials sourcing to production and disposal. This is especially true for fast fashion, which contributes to pollution, waste, and resource depletion. Choosing sustainable materials, supporting ethical brands, and prioritizing quality over quantity can help preserve our environment and promote sustainability.
Sustainable fashion isn’t just about saving the planet; it’s also about fostering community and promoting humanity. In recent decades, numerous African brands have embraced ethical and sustainable practices, emphasizing handmade craftsmanship, minimal waste, and locally sourced materials. From Cairo to Cape Town, and Nairobi to Abidjan, below are 15 African fashion brands leading the way in ethical and sustainable fashion.
Autumn Adeigbo
Autumn Adeigbo is a Nigerian designer renowned for her vibrant and fashion-forward creations. Her mission revolves around empowering women of all cultures while ensuring fair wages for global artisans. Embracing sustainability, she produces garments on demand, reducing waste, and promoting environmental cleanliness and safety.
lemlem
Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede established the resortwear and swimwear brand, lemlem, seventeen years ago, driven by her discovery of traditional weavers losing jobs in her country due to diminishing demand. lemlem is an artisan-driven, Africa-made brand that celebrates women and nature, characterized by vibrant colors and stripes. Kebede describes it as offering “casual and chic pieces easy to wear on all occasions.”
Tongoro
Tongoro is a Senegalese brand that works with local tailors and sources their materials on the continent. Launched in 2016 by Sarah Diouf, it has since gained international prominence with notable figures including Burna Boy, Alicia Keys, and Beyonce.
Dye Lab
Dye Lab, a small craft brand, specializes in dyeing techniques to churn products that blend practicality with artisanal charm. Embracing slow fashion principles, it minimizes waste and operates solely on a pre-order basis. Founded in 2021 by fashion consultant Rukky Ladoja, Dye Lab showcases tie-dye colors and designs inspired by the Yoruba people of Nigeria.
Kente Gentleman
Ivorian brand Kente Gentleman designs their clothes hand-in-hand with local artisans, then produces with a fashion philosophy that is as stylish as it is ethical.
MAXHOSA AFRICA
MAXHOSA AFRICA, an acclaimed knitwear brand, was founded by award-winning South African designer and creative artist Laduma Ngxokolo. Inspired by Xhosa culture, the brand aims to celebrate the beauty, color, and diversity of the Xhosa people. Since its establishment in 2010, MAXHOSA has emerged as a prominent figure in African luxury and lifestyle.
Mimi Plage
Founded by Ghanaian American designer Mimi Plange, the eponymous brand prioritizes creativity, craftsmanship, and textile recycling. Established in 2010, the brand has collaborated with notable figures such as Manolo Blahnik and LeBron James, among others.
Ahluwalia
Priya Ahluwalia, the London-born Indian Nigerian designer behind the upcycled menswear brand, Ahluwalia Studio, went from a stint at Beyoncé's IVY Park to pursuing a masters in menswear from the University of Westminster. While there, she was challenged to alleviate fashion's problem with waste. Trips to both Lagos, Nigeria and Panipat, India, where she was met with piles of surplus clothes, further ignited a flame in her to attempt to combat the issue. Her Spring/Summer 2019 graduate collection, made in collaboration with the Indian women's union SEWA Delhi, was her answer. The trench coats, oversized denim jackets, and vintage football jerseys were all produced using second hand clothing. She would go on to show at London Fashion Week, be featured in Vogue, win an H&M Design Award, and collaborate with Adidas Originals. Today, she continues to study the application of ethical methodologies to fashion.
Reform Studio
Hazem and Hend Riad, the co-founders of Cairo based design studio, Reform Studio, have built a business around the invention of Plastex, a material made from discarded plastic bags. The studio's fashions and furniture are helping to alleviate Egypt's problem with waste and employing women of impoverished backgrounds.
Lukhanyo Mdingi
Lukhanyo Mdingi, based in Cape Town, embraces humanity and sustainability in its garment production. Working closely with artisans from Cape Town and Burkina Faso, their design philosophy revolves around these collaborations, believing that meaningful design starts with human connections.
Hamaji Studio
Founded on the principle of preserving ancient textile traditions and nomadic handcrafts, Kenya-based Hamaji Studio boasts of making all its fabrics by hand, using natural fibers on its textiles, as well as using natural ingredients on its dyes, all while empowering artisans in the region. The brand, whose name means “nomad” in local Swahili, was founded by Louise Sommerlatte in 2017 and draws its inspiration from the everyday charm, natural beauty, and vibrant culture of East Africa.
Studio 189
Ghanaian designer Abrima Erwiah co-founded eco-friendly label Studio 189 with actress Rosario Dawson. Together they work with local artisans in Accra to produce garments. The artisans use plant based dye, hand-batik and kente weaving. The brand partners with the United Nations ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative, NYU School of Business and has worked with LVMH and Net a Porter.
Allëdjo
Founded in 2018 by Beninese designer Kassim Lassissi, Allëdjo is a menswear clothing line designed and produced by artisans in Dakar, Senegal. The brand is the merger of the designer's love of travel and exquisite apparel. The print-heavy color palette and free flowing materials used celebrate the renaissance man on the move.
Marrakshi Life
Marrakshi Life is a gender-neutral Moroccan fashion label. With their signature colors that are as soft as they are vibrant on jumpsuits, scarves and caftans, Marrakshi Life prioritizes handweaving by an in-house team of artisans, and boasts a zero-waste production style.
Lafalaise Dion
Cowry shells are one of the most recognizable symbols in African culture—utilized as a form of currency as early as the 14th century, and even as a religious and cultural symbol. In the 17th century, cowry shells were used as a means of embellishing hats and headdresses dawned by titleholders in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Kuba Kingdom. In western Côte d'Ivoire, the Dan ethnic group also dons these shells for rituals. Today, creative Lafalaise Dion has repurposed them for fashion. Her headpieces made with sustainably farmed shells are both powerful and mystical.
Read the original article on Okay Africa.
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