Name: Kenya's catwalks tackle the problem of fast-fashion waste
Uploaded: 2026-02-02T17:13:19.000Z
Duration: 2 min 43 s
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On Nairobi Fashion Week's Catwalk at the weekend upcycled silks and reworked denim.

Kenyan designers embracing a decarbonized theme urging slower, longer lasting fashion.

But that sits in some contrast with scenes unfolding elsewhere in the Kenyan capital.

The bales of second hand clothing unloaded at Gikomba market sustain a huge number of livelihoods.

But it's an influx that also fuels a mounting textile waste crisis on the run.

Designer John Kaweche showcased a collection made from 80% upcycled materials.

So I bought a lot of these fabrics that you saw in the collection, all from the second hand market, local markets, the Gikomba.

So I used those ones and created pieces that can still be they look like fresh.

He argues that so called circular design can deliver beauty while reducing fashion's environmental footprint.

And in Kenya, that footprint can be vast.

The country imported 206,000 metric tons of second hand clothing in the year to March 2024.

The exports primarily arriving from China and the West.

But in Gikomba, seller Nelson Kamau says what they receive can be a lottery.

You can open a bill and find that the quality and the fashion that you require to have is not going the same with what you have in the mind and what the customers do require.

And in those circumstances, discarded clothing can end up in dump sites like this.

Greenpeace Africa's Helen Cajaso Dina said the secondhand clothing sector does support a large population of traders.

I think what we are calling really and we are putting pushing really is for the global north to stop dumping and for the local government to ensure that there is stringent measures at the port of entry, where we are saying if anything is of low quality, then we will not accept.

Regulators say enforcement is beginning to catch up.

The director of Kenya's National Environment Management Agency said progress is being made, though recycling capacity remains weak and many imports are low quality.

For some, however, one person's waste is another's treasure.

At the city dump site, designer Morgan Azadi scavenges discarded garments for his label Kenyan Raw.

It's a way, he says, that he can combine his two passions, his love for fashion and his love for the environment.

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Kenya's catwalks tackle the problem of fast-fashion waste

vast

progress

embrace

crisis