Standing on a bustling Kenyan street market, I couldn’t help but feel a sinking feeling in my heart. Among the piles of second-hand clothing, my eyes were drawn to a khaki canvas jacket adorned with badges. It was a design I had created just months earlier, manufactured in a Chinese factory for sale on the British High Street. And yet, here it was, discarded and forgotten after only a few wears.
It struck me then, the alarming pace at which clothes were being discarded. It was consumerism on steroids. And I had played a significant role in contributing to this problem as a fashion designer for a major High Street brand. Throughout my career, I had designed a wide range of clothing, each item intended to be desired and owned by people. But I had never thought beyond that.
Seeing my own creation lying in the Kenyan dirt alongside countless others made me realize the true impact of fast fashion. It was a wake-up call that ultimately led me to leave my job in 2017. Every time I saw photographs of clothes I had designed in foreign landfills, I felt sick with guilt.
Since the rise of fast fashion and online shopping, clothes had become disposable commodities. People would wear something once and then discard it, often donating it to charity shops with the belief that it wouldn’t end up in a landfill. However, the reality was that these unwanted garments were being shipped overseas to countries like Kenya, overwhelming local markets.
The problem was too immense for charity shops to handle. According to Oxfam, over 70% of donated clothes globally are sent to Africa, where they are sold at a fraction of their original price. But with a population that couldn’t possibly consume such volumes, millions of pieces ended up as waste in Kenya alone. What didn’t sell would be dumped in landfills, burned, or thrown into rivers, causing further harm to the environment.
Having grown up in Africa, I had witnessed firsthand the detrimental effects of this overflow of clothing. It spurred me to take a year off from my career and rethink how I could stay in fashion without contributing to the problem. And thus, I never returned to my previous job.
In the early days of my career, I experienced the excitement of being a sought-after designer. My clothes were sold in prestigious stores and worn by celebrities. However, the financial reality was harsh, as the big retailers reaped most of the profits. This realization, coupled with my distressing visit to a factory in China, where I saw endless pairs of black trousers being packaged for shipment, pushed me to make a change.
I delved into the slow fashion and anti-consumerism movement, seeking a more responsible approach to fashion. It became clear that recycling and buying environmentally-friendly materials were not enough. The only solution was to buy fewer clothes and make them last longer.
This led me to a new venture, joining forces with my former boss. We aimed to give discarded clothes a second life by repurposing and upcycling them. It was a small step towards a more sustainable future, but every effort counts.
Now, whenever I see photos of clothes I have designed abandoned in foreign lands, I feel a mixture of sadness and determination. The fashion industry needs to change, and I hope my actions can inspire others to reconsider their choices and embrace a more conscious approach to clothing.
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