{"id":2336,"date":"2023-06-16T22:09:15","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T22:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/?p=2336"},"modified":"2023-06-16T22:12:18","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T22:12:18","slug":"why-african-brands-are-on-the-global-forefront-of-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/?p=2336","title":{"rendered":"Why African Brands Are On The Global Forefront Of Sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2336\" class=\"elementor elementor-2336\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-fc7f70e elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"fc7f70e\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-0dc0d9e\" data-id=\"0dc0d9e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b42e448 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b42e448\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.16.0 - 20-09-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sustainable fashion has become an eminently debated topic worldwide. Young consumers are the new advocates for this important movement that is bringing awareness to a more eco-friendly planet. Clothing companies are transforming their business models and improving their supply chain to reduce impact of environmental detriment, while developing a system towards greater ecological integrity and social justice.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Africa\u2019s fashion industry, with its current growth and thrive, still remains a sustainable and ethical operation compared to its global affiliates and\/or competitors. This is due to the value system in most parts of the continent, where waste is managed efficiently and their focus caters to the welfare of many. Hence, several creatives and brands with deep roots within Africa naturally find traces of these practices manifesting in their work.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With local operations at a smaller capacity, many of the local bespoke and luxury brands are still able to produce quality goods, that international buyers are constantly seeking, to facilitate the demands of their consumers.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples of African fashion brands that successfully portray ethical and sustainable practices:<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wangerayu.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1: Wanger Ayu<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Source: Instagram\/Wangerayu)<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Womenswear fashion brand for the contemporary African woman. Founded by a lawyer named <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wangerayu.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wanger Ayu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, all the brand\u2019s pieces are made in Nigeria by artisans. The garments maintain much of Ayu\u2019s signature play with structure and femininity while going bolder with statement pieces that push the fashion edge.<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lisafolawiyo.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lisa Folawiyo<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Source: Instagram\/lisafolawiyo)<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This brand is owned by another lawyer, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lisafolawiyo.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lisa Folawiyo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; famous for being one of the first African designers to take the African Ankara prints mainstream. She utilizes traditional locally-sourced West African fabrics and textiles for world class designs. This brand was selected by the Ethical Fashion Initiative as one of the African designers it would work with and support in strengthening their ethical ethos.<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.trebene.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3: Trebene<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Source: trebene.com)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.trebene.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trebene<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a responsible fashion brand that designs, prints and hand-weaves luxury cashmere scarves in Kashmir. Launched in 2015 by South Africa-based socially conscious entrepreneur Bushera Bashir, the label combines the rich heritage of the luxurious textile with modern and contemporary designs. It also ensures that every stage of the production process involves fair wages and safe working conditions for employees while contributing a portion of their profits towards quality education of their weaver\u2019s children.<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/studiooneeightynine.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4: Studio 189<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Source: instagram.com\/studiooneeightynine)<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/studiooneeightynine.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studio 189<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an artisan produced fashion lifestyle brand and social enterprise co-founded by actress Rosario Dawson and Abrima Erwiah. It has recently won the prestigious CFDA Lexus Fashion Initiative for Sustainability. The brand is made in Africa and produces African and African-inspired content and clothing. Currently, it operates stores in New York and Accra (Ghana), an e-commerce site, a manufacturing facility in Accra, and supports various community led projects in Africa and in the USA. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.studiooneeightnine.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studio 189<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> works with artisanal communities that specialize in various traditional craftsmanship techniques and focuses on empowerment, creating jobs and supporting education and skills training. The label has partnered with organizations such as the United Nations ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative, NYU Stern School of Business.<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lemlem.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5: Lemlem<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Source: https:\/\/www.whitewall.art\/lifestyle\/ by Gilles Bensimon)<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ethiopian model-turned-designer Liya Kebede founded this ethical African fashion brand as a way to preserve the centuries-old weaving techniques of her native country, Ethiopia, whilst creating jobs for local artisans at the same time. The label handcrafts its resort wear from locally sourced, non-GMO cotton that\u2019s detailed with vibrant embroidery.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ability for these brands to maintain their sustainability is due to the limited production of custom-made goods and selling them to a handful of boutiques. However, their inclination of preserving craftsmanship and accessing locally sourced materials and facilities restricts their scale due to limited and beneficial resources such as power and connectivity, which hinders their delivery time. Nevertheless, these challenges encourage the labels to create a direct-to-consumer model while building their own narrative, and slowly teaching retailers to pivot the traditional wholesale system and cater to the \u201cMade In Africa\u201d anecdote.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Source: https:\/\/desert-dreamer.tumblr.com\/)<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The face of fashion is already changing, and the story of Africa is making leads globally. African brands aren\u2019t expected to compete against big retailers, however, they are influencing the way consumers shop. As small retailers, they have already made a profound impact on the industry by bringing positive change to the future of the world. Consumer habits of fast-fashion consumption is slowly being replaced by more conscious choices, making room for a less fickle and a\u00a0 more endured taste for quality.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sustainable fashion has become an eminently debated topic worldwide. Young consumers are the new advocates for this important movement that is bringing awareness to a more eco-friendly planet. Clothing companies are transforming their business models and improving their supply chain to reduce impact of environmental detriment, while developing a system towards greater ecological integrity and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"developer","author_link":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/?author=1"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Sustainable fashion has become an eminently debated topic worldwide. Young consumers are the new advocates for this important movement that is bringing awareness to a more eco-friendly planet. Clothing companies are transforming their business models and improving their supply chain to reduce impact of environmental detriment, while developing a system towards greater ecological integrity and&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2336"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2340,"href":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336\/revisions\/2340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afwme.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}