Accra, Ghana – The sustainable label is collaborating with retailer Browns to create a capsule collection that gives new life to textile waste.
Repurposing t-shirts sourced from Ghana's Kantamanto Market, the project highlights the fact that over 15m items of clothing from the US pass through the market every week for recycling, but about 40% leaves as waste, often ending up in Ghana’s landfill, open dump sites or the ocean (source: OR Foundation).
To raise awareness of the social implications of this system, Collina Strada created a capsule collection using the waste from the market to give unwanted garments a new lease for life. Comprising hand-dyed pieces that reflect the brand’s DIY aesthetic, the range will be available exclusively through Browns.
The collaboration was made possible by non-profit-making The OR Foundation, which has been working on the Dead White Man’s Clothes research project – a literal translation of the Akan phrase for ‘second-hand clothing’. While a new wave of Deadstock Designers are focusing on repurposing unsold apparel, Collina Strada's collection is critiquing the problems with the global second-hand fashion market.