Mustafa Hassanali urges youth to upcycle for environmental conservation

Dar es Salaam. The founder of Swahili Fashion Week (SFW) and a renowned fashion designer, Mustafa Hassanali, has urged youth to endeavour to preserve the environment by keeping their old clothes.

This was said during the launch of the 16th edition of SFW.

Speaking during the launch held at the Bravo Coco Beach Hotel in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Mustapha shed light on how youth can play a big part in protecting the environment by upcycling their old clothes.

Upcycling means the reuse (of discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original

“We are trying to bring changes to our environment. Today’s youth, the Generation Z, need to know that they’re supposed to consider reusing, recycling, and upcycling their old clothes.

“It's not that you put on your clothes once, then throw them away; no, you should be responsible. It’s up to you to save the world. You know you can make your clothes look more attractive if you decide to do upcycling,” he shared.

Since the fashion sector is one of the leading global polluters of the environment according to UN, this 16th edition chose to use a bamboo emblem on the SFW in an effort to be more environmentally friendly.

“This year, Swahili Fashion has decided to support what President Samia Suluhu Hassan did at the COP28, so we go with the theme of green by using a bamboo tree to represent our involvement in protecting the environment,” said Mr. Hassanali.

Swahili Fashion Week is the largest annual fashion event that provides a platform for fashion designers from Swahili-speaking countries and beyond to showcase their talent, market their creativity, and network.

The bamboo motif will remain for the entire year until the next edition in order to raise awareness. SFW is scheduled to run for three days, from December 1 to 3.