The fashion retail industry has a huge impact on the environment, from material sourcing to production and disposal. This is especially true for fast fashion, which leads to pollution, waste and resource depletion. By choosing sustainable materials, supporting ethical brands and prioritizing quality over quantity, you can help protect the environment and promote sustainability.
Sustainable fashion isn’t just about saving the planet. It’s also about fostering community and promoting humanity. Over the past few decades, many African brands have embraced ethical and sustainable practices, focusing on hand-made craftsmanship, minimizing waste, and locally sourced materials. From Cairo to Cape Town, Nairobi to Abidjan, here are 15 African fashion brands leading the way in ethical and sustainable fashion.
Autumn Adebo
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Autumn Adebo is a Nigerian designer known for her vibrant, fashion-forward creations. Her mission is to empower women of all cultures while ensuring fair wages for artisans around the world. With a focus on sustainability, she produces clothing on demand, reduces waste, and promotes environmental cleanliness and safety.
RemRem
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Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede founded resort wear and swimwear brand Lemlem 17 years ago after seeing the country’s traditional weavers losing their jobs due to declining demand. Lemlem is an artisan-led, made-in-Africa brand featuring vibrant colors and stripes that celebrate women and nature. Kebede describes the brand as offering “casual chic pieces that are easy to wear for any occasion.”
Tongoro
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Tongoro is a Senegalese brand that works with local tailors and sources materials on the continent. Launched by Sarah Diouf in 2016, it has since gained international fame, worn by celebrities such as Burna Boy, Alicia Keys and Beyoncé.
Die Lab
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Dye Lab is a small craft brand that specializes in dyeing techniques to mass produce products that blend practicality with artisanal charm. Embracing slow fashion principles, they minimize waste and operate on a pre-order basis only. Founded in 2021 by fashion consultant Rukky Ladoja, Dye Lab showcases tie-dye colors and designs inspired by the Yoruba people of Nigeria.
Kentish Gentleman
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Ivory Coast brand Kente Gentleman designs its clothes in collaboration with local artisans and produces them according to a fashion philosophy that is as ethical as it is stylish.
Makhosa Africa
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Acclaimed knitwear brand, MAXHOSA AFRICA, was founded by award-winning South African designer and creative artist, Laduma Ngxokolo. Inspired by Xhosa culture, the brand aims to celebrate the beauty, colour and diversity of the Xhosa people. Since its launch in 2010, MAXHOSA has emerged as a leading voice in African luxury and lifestyle.
Mimi Plage
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Founded by Ghanaian-American designer Mimi Prange, her eponymous label values creativity, craftsmanship and textile recycling. Founded in 2010, the brand has collaborated with big names such as Manolo Blahnik and LeBron James.
Ahluwalia
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Priya Ahluwalia, the London-born Indian-Nigerian designer behind upcycled menswear brand Ahluwalia Studio, worked at Beyoncé’s IVY Park before going on to earn an MA in Menswear at the University of Westminster. During her time there, she was faced with the challenge of mitigating the problem of waste in fashion. Her encounters with mountains of surplus clothing on trips to Lagos, Nigeria, and Panipat, India, further ignited her passion to combat the issue. Her answer was her Spring/Summer 2019 graduate collection, created in collaboration with the Indian women’s union SEWA Delhi. Trench coats, oversized denim jackets, and vintage football jerseys were all made using second-hand clothing. She has since shown at London Fashion Week, been featured in Vogue magazine, won the H&M Design Award, and collaborated with Adidas Originals. Currently, she continues to explore the application of ethical methodologies to fashion.
Reform Studio
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Hazem and Hendriad, co-founders of Cairo-based design studio Reform Studio, built their business on inventing Plastex, a material made from discarded plastic bags. Their fashion and furniture lines help alleviate Egypt’s waste problem and provide employment for impoverished women.
Lukhanyo Mudingi
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Cape Town-based Lukhanyo Mdingi values humanity and sustainability in the production of his clothes. Working closely with artisans in Cape Town and Burkina Faso, his design philosophy revolves around collaboration, as he believes meaningful design begins with human connection.
Hamaji Studio
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With a philosophy of preserving ancient weaving traditions and nomadic craftsmanship, Kenya-based Hamaji Studio prides itself on handcrafting all of its fabrics, using natural fibres in its weaves and natural ingredients in its dyes, and empowering local artisans. Named for “nomadic” in the local Swahili language, the brand was founded in 2017 by Louise Sommerate and draws inspiration from the everyday charm, natural beauty and vibrant cultures of East Africa.
Studio 189
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Ghanaian designer Abrima Elweah co-founded eco-friendly label Studio 189 with actress Rosario Dawson. The pair work with local artisans in Accra to create their clothing, who use plant-based dyes, hand-dyed batik and kente weaving. The brand has partnered with the UNITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and New York University Business School, and has also worked with LVMH and Net a Porter.
Alejo
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Founded in 2018 by Beninese designer Kassim Lasissi, Allëdjo is a menswear line designed and made by artisans in Dakar, Senegal. The brand combines the designer’s love of travel with quality apparel, with a print-heavy color palette and flowing fabrics that celebrate the renaissance man on the move.
Marakshi Life
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Marrakshi Life is a gender-neutral Moroccan fashion label. Characterized by the vibrant colors and softness of its jumpsuits, scarves, and kaftans, Marrakshi Life prides itself on a lean production style, prioritizing hand weaving by its in-house team of artisans.
Lafalaise Dion
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Cowry shells are one of the best-known symbols in African culture, having been used as currency and as a religious and cultural symbol in the 14th century. In the 17th century, cowry shells were used to decorate hats and headdresses worn by rulers of the Kuba Kingdom in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In western Côte d’Ivoire, the Dan people also wear the shell in ceremonies. Today, creative Lafalaise Dion repurposes the shell into fashion. Her headdresses, made from sustainably farmed shells, are powerful and mystical.
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