Sometimes giving something ‘one last shot’ is the best shot you end up taking. For Bin to Beauty a wildcard of kindness, deciding it ain’t over ‘till it’s over’ and determination have all turned things around for the small upcycling business, and we couldn’t be more thrilled!

Johannesburg, South Africa (11 October 2024) — Ever felt down on your luck? Like you’ve got this great idea but just seem to be in the wrong place for it to really take off? Considered that your business might end up less of a dream and more of a memory? Kudakwashe Chigariro knows the feeling. In fact, just a few short months ago, she and her small upcycling business, Bin to Beauty, faced all of the above.

Things weren’t looking good for Kuda’s dream. In fact, at the end of July, she had to tell her team that it was time to close shop for good after 5 years of hard work.

It was a heartbreaking moment. Bin to Beauty was the bread and butter for the women part of the team. Together, they were all dedicated to upcycling recyclable materials into fabulous new products like purses, backpacks and accessories. It helped them help the environment and put food on the table. But at the time, it seemed like a breakthrough for the business was becoming impossible, and the business could no longer afford to keep going.

‘But upcycling is all the rage!’ You might protest. While it might be true that sustainable fashion (of which upcycling is a big part) has taken the world by storm, it’s also important to consider that when your resources are limited, so too can be your reach.

Despite coming to terms with the end of Bin to Beauty, life had other plans for Kuda and her team.

Dana Druion from the Rosebank Sunday Market learned of Kuda’s story and immediately knew she needed to get involved.

Dana gave Kuda her ‘last shot’ by offering her a free stall at one of Joburg’s top markets. Beyond this, Dana went above and beyond in trying to connect businesses that produce wrapper waste to Kuda.

When Good Things Guy shared the news of the relaunch, we were all at the edge of our seats.

As Kuda told us at the time, “We are just praying that we have been in the wrong place and praying that we are going to the right place.”

A few months later and the verdict was in: the tables had turned!

“We have been in the wrong place,” Kuda informed us. Those words alone were enough to make our team’s hearts sing.

Kuda added that her client base has expanded to other parts of South Africa thanks to people who learnt about her business through Good Things Guy, and further, that getting to operate at the market is “like a dream”.

While the journey continues for the little business that could, several lessons shine through for all of us: don’t count yourself out until the curtains have truly closed. Be ready to take help when it is given, and if you’re given a ‘last shot’, make it the best damn shot of them all.

Life can certainly feel like being inside a bin at time, but it can also very quickly turn to a thing of beauty.

You can support Bin to Beauty here, or at the Rosebank Market.

Sources: Email Submission

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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Calling all eco-focused fashionistas and designers! The 2024 Sustainable Fashion Awards’ Nominations are officially open:

South Africa (23 September 2024) — The nominations for the 2024 Sustainable Fashion Awards are officially open, and it’s time for South Africa’s top-tier, sustainability-focused designers and creators to step into the spotlight.

Every year, in a celebration of local talents in fashion who put the environment first, sustainable fashion publication and NPC Twyg hosts the coveted Sustainable Fashion Awards, synonymous with progress, creativity, culture and most importantly, a world where fashion and the planet’s wellbeing are not enemies.

There are 10 categories up for entry and 11 in total with the Changemaker Award set to be drawn from all the categories as determined by the panel of judges’ scoring results.

Both members of the public and members of the trade are invited to put forward worthy contenders for the following:

• Emerging Designer Award
• Student Award
• Footwear Award
• Accessories Award
• Innovative Design and Materials Award
• Trans-seasonal Design Award
• Farm-to-Fashion Award
• Nicholas Coutts Artisanal Fashion Award
• Retail Award
• Tastemaker Award

The awards are open to South Africans aged 18 and up, and the cut-off date for nominations is 27 September.

Finalists will be announced on 8 November while winners will be hosted at an awards event on 20 November. The space between then and now will be filled with strict screening to ensure that principles of transparency, objectivity, fairness and equality are all upheld.

You can find the entry forms and more information about each category’s criteria, here!

Sources: Supplied—Twyg 

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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Love Howick is hosting a market set to be filled with pre-loved goods this Saturday with all of the proceeds heading to its community social services!

Howick, South Africa (06 September 2024) — If you’re in the mood for a market and happen to be near or in Howick this Saturday, then Love Howick’s Market Day might just have your ears perked up!

With shopping for a cause at the heart of Love Howick’s Market Day plans, the day will see a wealth of pre-loved and donated clothes go up for sale all to support the community organisations’ social services. 

In case Love Howick hasn’t hopped on your radar before, the NPC has become a treasured pillar of the town since 2016 when it came into being as a way to help tackle the plight of poverty and decay in the area thanks to founder, Matt Hogarty.

Love Howick has an array of projects under its wings, including ‘The Dream Centre’ which helps equip and empower unemployed people with employable skills, the ‘Renoverge Project’ which is on a mission to make Howick the cleanest town in South Africa and the Greenlight Project—a way to empower residents by identifying poverty indicators through and developing plans of action in response. On top of this is its annual Green Weeks and the Love Cities initiative that’s hoping to empower other communities as member organisations! 

At the core of Love Howick is the idea of active citizenship, community pride and the understanding that we get further together than on our own.

The organisation has its own charity shop named the Street Store too, which essentially operates as a ‘swop shop’; clothes, food accessories are brought in, exchanged for tokens and with those tokens community members can take what they need.

The Love Howick Market Day then is a monthly event from their Streetstore, where all the pre-loved goods purchased will see proceeds go directly to the organisations social services programs and campaigns—a fantastic reason to spend a day shopping.

Details:

• When: 7 September form 9 am – 12 pm
• Where: 19 Morning Street, Howick
• Get involved: You can volunteer to help out by calling 033 940 5057 or by emailing info@lovehowick.org.za

Sources: Love Howick 

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Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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Fashion Charity ‘Vintage with Love’ is set to open a new shop, this time in Johannesburg! As an initiative that has raised over R8 million for literacy charities across South Africa, this team are leading the local runway when it comes to fashion with a purpose:

Johannesburg, South Africa (18 June 2024) — One of South Africa’s most-loved fashion and literacy charities, Vintage with Love, is opening a brand new shop in Johannesburg!

An initiative that shines in a world dominated by fast fashion and an ever-quickening trend cycle, Vintage with Love is a unique concept that’s not only encouraging people to shop in a more sustainable way, it’s also helping them make a difference for causes that need extra love too. In this way, they’re promoting a “sharity” economy, and now Joburgers can put their shopping skills to good use!

A dream that came to life thanks to Leigh Ord and Jacquie Myburgh Chemaly, Vintage with Love’s story began in 2013 as a small way to raise funds for literacy charities through the sales of preloved fashion. As the team celebrate over a decade of hard work, love and impact, they reflect on how far they’ve come through years of pop up sales, an online store, their shop in Cape Town and now, their Melrose spot. All in all, they have raised over R8 million for literacy charities across our country as well as other charities including the Raelema Teacher Intern Programme, Community Assisting Schools, Thandulwazi Maths and Science Academy and the Click Foundation.

All of this from finding style gems where others might’ve seen fashion relics, and adding a flair of consciousness to shopping carts.

“Curating gently worn fashion is a real art — but one that our team of fashion volunteers have perfected,” says Tracey van Gass, the managing director of Vintage with Love.

“These ladies spend every Tuesday morning in our offices, sorting and pricing all the clothing donations to be sure we have the very best selection of gently worn fashion online and in store,” she adds.

“We take great pride in the fact that Vintage with Love is not a jumble sale or thrift store—it is a carefully curated collection of really cool fashion that we know is going to be flying out the doors the minute we open.”

Tracey adds that the VWL is proud to tick two very important boxes when it comes to most people’s dreams to make the world a better place: All the profits from clothing sales go to improving literacy in our country, plus by buying once-loved clothing we can all help to reduce the amount of fashion waste that threatens the environment.

You can find the new shop at 102 Corlett Drive, Melrose, Johannesburg, and keep up with the team here.

Sources: Vintage with Love—Supplied 

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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A Soweto Seamstress’ skills have wowed and evoked wonder upon thousands thanks to her upcycling talents!

Soweto, South Africa (31 January 2024) — A Soweto seamstress’ skills have left people from all over the world feeling ever so inspired to get into their upcycling groove after she shared her talented work on social media.

If you’re no stranger to the social media community, the ‘Up-cycled Cloth Collective’, you know that every day is a new day to be inspired by what the community’s creative wizards can do with forgotten materials. Started by South Africa-based Melanie Brummer, UCC connects creative crafters from all over the world, and last week, Pattie Mamotheo’s creation was the star of the show.

The Soweto seamstress’ wowed and evoked wonder upon thousands after she shared the gorgeous pieces she had made from scrap materials. A shawl, skirt and bag, all from scraps.

People were so impressed with her eye, handiwork work and pose, and deemed the culmination should find space in Vogue Magazine. Others shared their infectious inspiration, to which Pattie noted that she is encouraged to encourage others.

There’s something undeniably enchanting about Pattie’s creation; taking pieces of leftover art to make a lot of beauty. Whether the Soweto Seamstress’ skills take her to Vogue or not, she’s already earned her own version of a magazine cover.

Often, conversations surrounding sustainable fashion put the emphasis on the positive environmental impact something like upcycling serves. But the beauty of the new that can be created from what was has its own place of importance and speaks to the humanity of wanting to create.

Meanwhile, in other news about South African upcyclers who earned their moment in the sun, a local mom’s clever use for paper bags went viral!

Sources: Up-cycled Cloth Collective

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Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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The 2023 winners of South Africa’s Sustainable Fashion Awards have been crowned—a win for the environment, fashion and local flair!

Cape Town, South Africa (24 November 2023) — The 2023 cohort of sustainable fashion’s finest have officially been crowned by the judges at the 2023 South African Sustainable Fashion Awards by Twyg.

At a glittering event in Cape Town, the formal proceedings soon kicked off. In a fashion movement as important as sustainability, all those who had made it as far as the finalists list deserved to be named and famed.

Still, the sustainable spotlight was ready to shine bright on the top-tier creatives who, after a rigorous judging process overseeing ten categories and one ultimate winner, were finally announced.

Without further ado:

The 2023 Winners of the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards

Emerging Designer Award: This award is given to a current student or young emerging designer who is challenging fashion’s status quo, and engaging with environmental and social responsibilities in a playful and creative way. The 2023 winner is Khumo.

Accessories Award: Recognising a brand or designer who implements ethical labour practices, limits the use of toxic chemicals and utilises sustainable materials in the design and production of accessories. The 2023 winner is VERSE.

Footwear Award: Honouring a brand, cobbler or designer who makes quality, durable footwear using sustainable materials, implements ethical labour practices and limits the use of toxic chemicals. The 2023 winner is Reefer Shoes.

Innovative Design and Materials Award: This award spotlights a designer who uses innovative techniques to reduce textile waste and the negative environmental impact of the industry. The 2023 winner is sinCHUI.

Trans-seasonal Design Award: A big nod to quality design that aspires to be timeless and made to last through versatility and multi-functionality. The winning brand/designer is also invested in the life of their garments and supports slower production cycles. The 2023 winner is MUNKUS.

Farm-to-Fashion Award: This award celebrates brands or designers committed to cultivating transparent and traceable supply chains and advocating for regenerative textile practices, making garments from 100% natural fabric, and using no fossil-fuel-based synthetics and as few toxins and chemicals as possible. The 2023 winner is Botanical Nomad.

Nicholas Coutts Artisanal Fashion Award: Focused on a designer who uses artisanal methods to create fashion that foregrounds the skills of garment workers and local communities, the 2023 winner is UNI FORM by Luke Radloff. The prize awards a R10 000 cash prize from the Coutts family in honour of the late Nicholas Coutts who explored traditional techniques in his designs.

Social Impact Award: A celebration of organisations working in the fashion and textile system, this award honours those who have a direct positive impact on people, such as raising awareness about social concerns, creating employment opportunities, and encouraging good and fair working conditions. The 2023 winner is Taking Care of Business.

Retail Award: The Retail Award award recognises a retailer or retailing initiative that prioritises sustainability by including pre-loved and gently worn clothes, swap shops, garment rental and similar activities, as well as supporting local producers, vertical and regional supply chains, and sustainable design and manufacturing. The 2023 winner is Style Rotate.

Tastemaker Award: Honouring a photographer, stylist, influencer or content creator who has actively promoted slow, sustainable fashion and/or slow living over the last 12 months, the 2023 winner is Felipe Mazibuko.

After the ten individual category awards were given out, it was time to name the overall winner of the evening, the recipient of the coveted annual Changemaker Award. The winner of the Changemaker Award is selected by the judges from the highest scorers in the various categories and receives a substantial R100 000 cash prize to further their career.

The grand Changemaker Award went to Thando Ntuli for her brand MUNKUS.

Founded in 2019 by Ntuli, MUNKUS creates intergenerational modern pieces influenced by the classic silhouettes of 1980s and ’90s South African fashion. Each MUNKUS garment is designed to improve with age, thanks to the use of sustainable textiles that are treated to withstand time.

While the prizes themselves were presented to only a few, “This significant occasion would not have been possible without all 31 of the finalists, who are all making changes across the industry,” said Jackie May, founder of Twyg and the Sustainable Fashion Awards.

“To change everything, we need everyone – and Twyg is incredibly proud of the finalists who are playing their role in this mission. Each and every finalist’s dedication to sustainable and circular design practices is a testament to the power of conscious creativity. We are delighted to celebrate this year’s winners and look forward to seeing how they continue to shape the future of the fashion industry.”

Sources: Supplied

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Have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post Meet the Winners of the 2023 South African Sustainable Fashion Awards  appeared first on Good Things Guy.

From farm-to-fashion nominations to social impactors using fashion to change the fabric of society for the better, these are the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Award Finalists:

South Africa (21 November 2023) – At the forefront of sustainable fashion advocacy, Twyg’s annual Sustainable Fashion Awards strive to celebrate and support designers, creators, thought leaders and innovators who use best practices to help change fashion!

After thoughtful consideration by the panel of esteemed judges – Nigerian entrepreneur and founder of Lagos Fashion Week Omoyemi Akerele, Swiss creative consultant, writer and editor Mimma Viglezio, CEO of textile startup Rewoven Esethu Cenga, head of the department for design studies at Tshwane University of Technology Dr Sipho Mbatha, fashion magazine stylist, director and editor Sharon Armstrong, and Tanzanian-born curator and founder of Industrie Africa Nisha Kanabar – 31 finalists have been selected from the pool of candidates.

The 2023 category winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 23 November 2023 in Cape Town.

The Finalists:

Emerging Designer Award

This award is given to a current student or young emerging designer who is challenging fashion’s status quo, and engaging with environmental and social responsibilities in a playful and creative way.

• Bash Studios
• Khumo
• VNTU

Accessories Award

In recognition of the craftsmanship of sustainable accessories, this award is given to a brand or designer who implements ethical labour practices, limits the use of toxic chemicals and utilises sustainable materials.

• Orange Juice Spaces
• Plasticity
• Verse

Footwear Award

A new category for 2023, this award recognises a brand, cobbler or designer who makes quality, durable footwear using sustainable materials, implements ethical labour practices and limits the use of toxic chemicals.

• Ifele
• Reefer
• SoulShooz

Innovative Design and Materials Award 

Celebrating innovation in fashion, this award seeks to recognise a designer who uses innovative techniques to reduce textile waste and the negative environmental impact of the industry.

• Heru- shezi
• SinCHUI
• SIXX6 (Pty) Ltd

Trans-seasonal Design Award 

This award rewards quality design that aspires to be timeless and made to last; through versatility and multi-functionality, the winning brand/designer is invested in the life of their garments and supports slower production cycles.

• Munkus
• Sipho Mbuto
• Thabo Makhetha

Farm-To-Fashion Award

This category celebrates brands or designers committed to cultivating transparent and traceable supply chains and advocating for regenerative textile practices, making garments from 100% natural fabric, and using no fossil-fuel-based synthetics and as few toxins and chemicals as possible.

• Botanical Nomad
• Inke
• Yarnh

Nicholas Coutts Artisanal Fashion Award 

In honour of the late designer Nicolas Coutts, who beautifully used and explored traditional crafts and techniques in his designs, this award recognises a designer who uses artisanal craft techniques to create fashion that foregrounds, celebrates and values the skills of garment workers and local communities.

• UNI FORM by Luke Radloff
• Fred Rich
• Mors

Social Impact Award

Open to organisations working in the fashion and textile system, this category honours those who have a direct positive impact on people, such as raising awareness about social concerns, creating employment opportunities, and encouraging good and fair working conditions.

• Patch & Stitch
• Taking Care of Business
• Mo-hey by Chommies
• Urbanflock

Retail Award

This award recognises a retailer or retailing initiative that prioritises sustainability by including pre-loved and gently worn clothes, swap shops, garment rental and similar activities, as well as supporting local producers, vertical and regional supply chains, and sustainable design and manufacturing.

• 99 Design
• Style Rotate
• Wisi-Oi Marketplace

Tastemaker Award

Recognising those who decide or influence what is, or will, become fashionable, this award goes to a photographer, stylist, influencer or content creator who has actively promoted slow sustainable fashion and/or slow living over the last 12 months, and who has sparked relevant conversations.

• Felipe Mazibuko
• Odwa Zamane
• Ulindelwe Ratsibe

The Changemaker Award

This overall prize, whose winner is selected by the judges from the highest scorers in the various design categories, recognises a designer whose career has embraced sustainable and circular design practices.

Sources: Supplied

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Have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post These are the 2023 South African Sustainable Fashion Awards’ Finalists appeared first on Good Things Guy.

Winners from the South African Sustainable Fashion Awards have gone on to do wow-worthy things, like being featured in Vogue and having their designs travel the world. Here’s what a few of the winners have been up to!

South Africa (05 November 2023) — Stars of circularity, the ever-so-talented Katherine-Mary Pichulik, Cleo Droomer and Shamyra Moodley are among the line-up of winners at last year’s Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards who have accomplished some impressive feats since then. Almost a year later, here’s what these progressive, conscious fashionistas have been up to.

“The past year has really been about thinking and dreaming into new ways of making, especially within my immediate communities,” says Cleo Droomer, who has continued his industry-changing exploration of zero-waste textile pieces.

A ‘story-tailor’ and the designer behind his label Droomer, not only did Cleo win in the Innovative Design and Materials category in 2022, he was also the winner of the overall Changemaker Award.

Alongside many other recent creative projects, a highlight for the designer was creating a patchwork dress with historical details for Aaniyah Martin founder of The Beach Co-Opt (which empower coastal communities to become eco-guardians) for the ‘One Blue Heart zero-waste’ gala this year.

LaaniRaani, also known as Shamyra Moodley, was the winner of the Nicholas Coutts Award. The award is presented to a designer who uses artisanal craft techniques such as weaving, embroidery or botanical dyeing to make fashion that foregrounds, celebrates and values the skills of the people who make the garments.

Moodley is a mother, writer and self-taught fashion designer, whose unique pieces are handmade in her home studio from vintage and reclaimed fabric.

She’s been on a whirlwind fashion adventure over the past few months, showcasing her work in Paris and Milan, and being selected as one of Design Indaba’s Emerging Creatives for 2023.

The Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards offer a much-needed platform for South African creatives, says Katherine-Mary Pichulik, the founder and creative director of Cape Town’s Pichulik that took home the Accessories Award in 2022.

Her handcrafted sculptural jewellery is exported across the globe and is regularly featured in international fashion magazines such as Vogue!

Together with the trio mentioned above, all of last year’s winners have demonstrated the enormous potential of sustainable South African fashion.

Very soon, this year’s edition of the Sustainable Fashion Awards will shine the spotlight on another set of changemakers who prioritise a circular fashion industry. The finalists in the fifth edition of the Awards will be announced on 14 November 2023, and the overall winners are set to be named at an awards ceremony on 23 November 2023.

Ten designers and brands will be recognised for their implementation of sustainable, ethical, circular and regenerative design across an array of categories, including Accessories, Innovative Design and Materials, Footwear, Farm-To-Fashion, Social Impact, Emerging Designer, Retail, Tastemaker and Trans-seasonal Design, plus the Nicholas Coutts Award. The overall prize, the Changemaker Award, with a R100 000 prize, is presented to a designer whose career has embraced sustainable and circular design practices.

Sources: Supplied

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Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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In the creative pursuit to give waste materials chapters beyond the scrapyard, a Johannesburg creative made garments entirely from airbags.

Johannesburg, South Africa (25 June, 2023) — As upcycling continues to prove itself as one of the most effective ways for everyday global citizens to ease their impact on the planet, creatives continue to show us what’s possible. One artist from Johannesburg is doing exactly this, transforming an overlooked material into entire outfits in the most thought-provoking way. Meet Khumo Morojele, the artist on a mission to breathe new life into airbags.

Noticing that some of the most durable materials aren’t being repurposed, Morojele became inspired to breathe new life into airbags—one of the few life-saving materials around. Upcycling follows a similar thread; saving the Earth. Marrying the two concepts in his collection dubbed ‘Collision’, Morojele created garments that look like they could fly you into outer space, expanding the idea that there are endless possibilities for upcycling efforts.

Morojele shares that all the airbags were sourced from an automobile scrapyard in Booysens, Johannesburg under the idea ‘from wreck to rise’.

In his words:

“These garments serve as a testimony of new life and protection.”

Morojele is part of a young movement of sustainable fashion designers in South Africa. Inspired by his mother who introduced him to thrifting and ran her own boutique in Joburg CBD, he continues to pay homage to her lessons throughout his work.

“It always starts from the love of thrifting and that trickles down into me making an up-cycled piece or sharing different pieces with my friends—just that whole foundation and circulation of clothing—around friends, family and design, is what I love most about my relationship with fashion.”

What is Upcycling and Why is it Helpful to the Planet?

Upcycling differs from recycling because instead of using an item for its original purpose again—an important practice doable for many everyday items like plastic bags and cutlery—it inspires creativity to give materials that aren’t always reusable, a new chapter.

Morojele falls part of a long list of South African creatives turning waste into wonder through upcycling and repurposing discarded items; an umbrella idea that’s made sanitary pads from masks, bricks from used clothing and opportunities from up-skilling initiatives.

Sources: Khumo Morojele

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The world’s largest T-shirt ever (as big as a rugby pitch) made a big impact. Made from recycled plastic bottles and broken apart into smaller clothing pieces to be given away, here’s what we can all learn from the giant’s top:

Global (30 May, 2023) — In the world of fascinating oversized things, the world’s largest T-shirt ever has entered the conversation, but it’s more than just a very, very baggy fit.

Earning a Guinness World Record for the largest T-shirt ever, the massive top challenges that of a rugby pitch.

Measuring 108.96 metres long and 73.48m wide, the tee boasts a take on the Romanian flag.

But, the project behind it might be bigger than the T-shirt itself, lending itself to thought-stirring gawks.

Made entirely out of recycled materials, the subtle logo of the shirt nods to how much of an impact recycling can create.

Over 500 000 bottles were recycled and upcycled to create the shirt and a big message. As part of its creation, communities in Romania were invited to join the recycling bandwagon to create the T-shirt almost big enough to clothe a small village.

After its showcase, it was broken up into 10 000 individual clothing pieces and gifted to children in need.

So, what can we take from the biggest T-shirt ever? Well, the first is that a lot of people can come together seamlessly when there’s enough oomph behind it. The second is that sustainable living is so much more than simply using the same thing again. Many materials (especially plastic) can be reimagined into entirely new life cycles, like a trendy handbag or, a really massive clothing item. The creativity is at our liberty.

Last, it tends to get the gears turning on how amazing it would be to have people come together like this not just for a world record (though that’s always nice) but for something communities can stand back and marvel at.

What if we all rallied together to recycle and make massive artworks that could be redistributed to resellers or collectors later? We’d boost the economy for the people who make a living off collecting materials like glass, help the planet and have something cool to marvel at.

We don’t know about you, but this mighty T-shirt has us entertaining massive dreams!

Sources: Guinness World Records 

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post The World’s Largest T-Shirt Made a Big Impact Beyond Size appeared first on Good Things Guy.