What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Trashion” ? It’s a combination of two words; Trash and Fashion. Trashion is a term for art, jewelry, fashion, and objects created from used, thrown-out, found, and repurposed elements – recycling old materials or transforming low-quality fabrics into fashion trends. What do you do when your clothes wear out? Or what happens to the fabric left when mending or sewing your own clothes?
We at Elimu Resource Centre had a chance to host the weekly Sustainable Fashion Talks founded by Belinda Smetana whose core mission is to shed light on the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion while promoting the principles of eco-fashion by embracing inclusivity through engaging talks, workshops, and collaborative initiatives. Her main aim is to educate the audience about the importance of sustainability, ethical sourcing, fair labor practices, and innovative solutions that can revolutionize the way we produce, consume, and value fashion. The talk was held at our Artisan Maker Space (AMS) with the main topic being ‘Fashion and Climate change’. The panelists included our own Neema Mutanu (Program Officer, Elimu Sewing Project) along with Emmanuel Gona (Climate Justice Advocate), Elphic Tossi (Founder, One Million Trees for Kilifi), and Ruth Anyango (Co- founder, Eco Fashion Week Africa) and Belinda Smetana as the moderator.
In-depth discussions were had on how the fashion industry contributes to climate change directly and indirectly in various ways. Ahead of the talk, a screening was done featuring how “mtumba” (used clothing shipped to Africa from abroad) is slowly turning into a climate nightmare. The documentary exposes the hidden export of plastic waste to the Global South, fueled by the growing production of cheap, synthetic clothing made by brands in the Global North. Despite the restrictions on plastic waste export around the world, an overwhelming volume of used clothing shipped to Kenya is waste synthetic clothing, a toxic influx which is creating devastating consequences for the environment and communities. The estimates suggest that in recent years over 300 million items of damaged or unsellable clothing made of synthetic – or plastic – fibers are exported to Kenya each year where they end up dumped, landfilled, or burned, exacerbating the plastic pollution crisis.
The panelists encouraged the audience about recycling clothes and practicing sustainable fashion. Elimu Sewing Project was acknowledged for its recycling measures using left-over fabrics to design creative ideas.
Due to the global market that demands fast produced products, industries have opted for cheaply available raw material, which is oil waste that is processed into polyester materials. These are widely used and fast moving in the market as they are also cheap.
The sustainable fashion talk was an eye opener for the attendees. The ideas shared inspire them and many left with a determination to minimize the carbon footprint left by products such as polyester. The audience also agreed that fashion is mostly a notion, an idea that is devised by some and well marketed to be globally accepted, and if we market the ‘Trashion’ idea well, it might just be the next hot thing in the fashion industry!