Twyg
Twyg
(
Other relevant actor
)
#SDGAction57937
Description
Our objective is to be a leading voice of sustainable fashion in Africa. Aligned to SDG12, we aim to contribute to a future where fashion is synonymous with sustainability, circularity and ethical practices. Through impactful storytelling and collaborations, we engage people and business across Africa to create a more equitable, regenerative, and thriving fashion industry.
We educate and empower consumers, brands, creators, and the public by:
• Producing informative and inspirational content about sustainable fashion and
• practical guides for behaviour change, published on our digital platforms;
• Hosting activations, events and workshops to catalyse conversations among fashion and design stakeholders to help producers and consumers make sustainable, inclusive and ethical lifestyle choices; and
• Piloting projects that enable localised, decentralised, and circular clothing and textile systems.
HOW WE DO ACHIEVE THIS
1. Storytelling and Education Content Curation
We use our digital platforms (website and social media) to deliver stories focused on the intersection of fashion and sustainability, particularly in relation to indigenous biodegradable materials and traditional craftsmanship; contemporary design; and slow and sustainable fashion. This includes topics across the fashion supply chain – from regenerative agriculture and production and manufacturing to circular design and traditional fabrics – in line with our mission of decentralising fashion narratives and seeking to distribute opportunities in fashion more evenly, with fair wages and working conditions for all workers. In the coming months, we aim to complement this with the launch of a prestige annual print digest. Campaigns We have created campaigns to shape public awareness around our vision and inspire positive behaviour change, such as Plastic-Free Mzansi, an annual awareness campaign targeting single-use plastic and plastic pollution, identifying emergent ways to implement a circular economy through a series of beach clean-up events with partners, creative recycling workshops, a designer showcase and exhibition, and a paced digital and social media campaign. Twyg School Launched in 2022, this is a free online education platform that provides uniquely curated and thoughtful courses on topics related to sustainable fashion. Design Futures Lab The Design Futures Lab is a creative film project (2022 and 2023) which supports African creatives to participate in the emerging news, visual and film medium of immersive filmmaking by providing workshops and training to support filmmakers to produce content about sustainable fashion.
2. Convenings and Conversations
We bring together creators and fashion consumers through events, experiences and workshops to amplify the work of those who are re-imagining fashion and empowering others to make sustainable, inclusive and ethical lifestyle choices. These include: Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards Launched in 2019, the annual Twyg Awards recognise, develop, and celebrate local designers who use socially and environmentally sustainable practices and to promote their work to consumers. Swap & Mend We organise regular events in Cape Town and Johannesburg for visitors to bring, swap and mend clothes to keep them in circulation. Last year, we created Slow Fashion Festivals in collaboration with partners which include our Swap & Mends and activate precincts and include multiple workshops and demonstrations to show different mending techniques and upcycling skills. Africa Textile Talks These hybrid events, hosted in collaboration with Imiloa Collective from Mauritius, provide opportunities for learning, networking, and collaboration on textiles, slow fashion, craft, and design. The talks combine online webinars and in-person discussions, workshops, and talks offering in-depth and lived experiences of natural fibre and regenerative farming, textile processing, designing and crafting. By sharing ideas and celebrating changemakers, Africa Textile Talks is enabling culturally diverse and inclusive interaction, exchange and experimentation across the sub-continent and growing a movement of ethical, circular, and sustainable growers, processors, makers, designers, retailers, creatives and innovators. Confections x Collections This is a premier fashion show held annually to curate African designers telling African stories about their cultures and heritage through textile and fashion design. The show provides a platform for sustainable designers to reach new markets while sharing African cultures around the world and de-centring Western fashion narratives. We curate this for the Mount Nelson, a Belmond hotel in Cape Tonw.
3. Empowering and Enabling Change
We undertake a range of interventions to enable localised, decentralised, and circular clothing and textile systems. Twyg Studio We provide access to resources and facilities to facilitate shoots (including images and fashion events) for mission-aligned clients, which both provides a sustainable income source for us as well as a platform enabling like-minded partners to execute their creative missions. Refashion Lab In collaboration with African Fashion Research Institute, we run a think-and-do tank that investigates and practices alternative fashion futures that are kinder to the planet and people. This includes undertaking real-world research and implementing pilot projects to provide sustainable models of growth for the local textile industry. For example, we are working with Streetscapes — an organisation that provides a model for sustainable urban regeneration and addresses the neglected needs of the homeless — to collect, sort and redirect textile waste to be reused, repaired or recycled by training unemployed people to embroider, crochet, mend, identify fabrics, and sort textile waste. In addition, we are developing a report on textile waste in South Africa, how to create an eco-system of recyclers and upcyclers, and making recommendations for the industry. The Refashion Lab has also conducted a pilot project analysing the fabric content of all clothes on the market in July 2021 to identify alternative solutions and system changes. Twyg Directory Currently in development, the Twyg Directory will be an online platform that connects fashion and design consumers with sustainable brands and designers. For consumers, the platform will provide a one-stop shop for curated sustainable brands from across Africa that practice ethical and regenerative sourcing and production techniques, including recyclers and second-hand retailers. For brands and designers, it will serve as a central information source to learn about and be inspired to implement circular design, sustainable sourcing of textiles, and regenerative fashion and design that protects the planet and people. This will be combined with a certification programme that rewards and encourages sustainable practices by stakeholders in the industry and provides a signal to environmentally conscious consumers.
Twyg’s capacity-building and technology transfer arrangements focus on empowering designers, artisans, and fashion professionals with knowledge, skills, and sustainable innovation. These efforts align with Twyg’s mission to grow Africa’s sustainable fashion ecosystem.
1. Capacity-Building Arrangements
Twyg facilitates skill development and knowledge-sharing through:
Workshops and courses: Fabric of Life Project: Provides hands-on training for women artisans in textile production and sustainable design at the Streetscapes organisation in Cape Town.
Africa Textile Talks: Offers expert-led discussions and workshops on sustainability, ethical production, and circular fashion.
Online courses for designers and brands: Regenerative materials, Nature-centric approach to design and sustainable business models. Community engagement and knowledge exchange Public events and dialogues: Bringing together local and global experts to share best practices.
Educational content and storytelling: Twyg publishes articles, interviews, and case studies to make sustainability knowledge accessible.
2. Technology Transfer Arrangements
Twyg promotes the adoption of sustainable innovations through:
Collaborations with Sustainable Innovators Partnering with researchers, textile technologists, and sustainable material developers to introduce new eco-friendly fabrics and processes Engaging with African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI) and Big Circle Studios and other institutions to explore traditional and modern sustainable techniques.
Knowledge dissemination and digital platforms: Using Twyg’s website, social media, and newsletters to share insights on innovative and traditional sustainable practices.
Case studies and industry reports: Highlighting pioneering approaches in textile sustainability. Encouraging the use of natural fibres, circular economy practices, regenerative and biodegradable materials and low-impact dyeing techniques.
As a non profit company, we are legally obliged to have at least three directors on our board. We have four with different experiences and experiences who we consult regularly and meet with formally twice a year. Our finances are formally managed by a registered accountant.
Since we are largely a media organisation, we measure our impact through traditional routes such as google and meta analytics. For our two big events, we hire a PR agency which also measure our reach. We have conducted surveys, and after all our events we do surveys to get feedback after the events. The feedback is always very positive and constructive. In July, we are going to start building an impact measurement system with the help of two graduate interns and an impact consultancy firm to better understand our impact on our readers and audience.
We are regularly supported by South African and international retailers and fibre producers: Mohair South Africa, Cape Wools South Africa, The Foschini Group, Polo South Africa, H&M Group, and Country Road. We partner with Imiloa Collective for our Africa Textile Talks; the Mount Nelson (a Belmond hotel) for our Confections x Collections, a slow African fashion showcase; African Fashion Research Institute and Streetscapes for our Refashion Lab; and Fashion Revolution on our Slow Fashion Festivals. Previously, we have partnered with the State of Fashion, the Kokrobitey Institute, The Or Foundation, British Council (southern Africa) and the Goethe Institute (South Africa).
SDGS & Targets
Goal 12
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
12.1
Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries
12.1.1
Number of countries developing, adopting or implementing policy instruments aimed at supporting the shift to sustainable consumption and production
12.2
By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
12.2.1
Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP
12.2.2
Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP
12.3
By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses
12.3.1
(a) Food loss index and (b) food waste index
12.4
By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
12.4.1
12.4.2
(a) Hazardous waste generated per capita; and (b) proportion of hazardous waste treated, by type of treatment
12.5
By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
12.5.1
National recycling rate, tons of material recycled
12.6
Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle
12.6.1
12.7
Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities
12.7.1
Number of countries implementing sustainable public procurement policies and action plans
12.8
By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
12.8.1
Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
12.a
Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production
12.a.1
Installed renewable energy-generating capacity in developing and developed countries (in watts per capita)
12.b
Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
12.b.1
Implementation of standard accounting tools to monitor the economic and environmental aspects of tourism sustainability
12.c
Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities
12.c.1
Amount of fossil-fuel subsidies (production and consumption) per unit of GDP
SDG 14 targets covered
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Deliverables & Timeline
Refashion Lab report about textile waste and recycling micro-studies in Cape Town to be presented at Africa Textile Talks in Cape Town
Africa Textile Talks summit
Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards
Confections x Collections (slow African fashion showcase)
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
Feedback
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Timeline
Entity
SDGs
Region
- Africa
Geographical coverage
Other beneficiaries
The beneficiaries of our organisation (which is aligned to SDG12) are both consumers and producers. Our information dissemination - through our online magazine, social media and newsletter - is useful to consumers and helps them make better consumer choices as we offer them alternatives to fast, unsustainable fashion and other lifestyle brands. This information and our industry-facing events also support designers and brands to make better choices around materials, business practices and circularity. We strive to help and support our growing network of consumers (not a word we like as it reduces citizens to just being consumers without agency) and producers (including designers, brands and makers). We are also noticed and appreciated by big retailers and manufacturers who are grateful for the focus on local and African products. There is a big drive to localise fashion as it will grow the economy and jobs in South Africa.
More information
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Contact Information
Jackie May, Ms