Covid-19: Creative Africa’s Fashion Industry Re-Invent Ways To Stay Afloat Financially

By Samuel David

The fashion industry are compelled to do what they do best in re-inventing ways to thrive in this Coronavirus pandemic period, while public health experts and pundits are still on the verge of finding a vaccine to cure the virus.

The fashion industry across Africa are digging up new sustainable solutions, and venturing into more traditional ones, that will facilitate them to stay afloat financially as well as protect the environment.

The heavy reliance on imported garments and materials from Asia and the West which often contain signs of hazardous chemicals as well as the use of  toxic chemicals dyes that may include bleach or lye residues that could end up in natural or municipal water sources.

After the oil industry, the global fashion industry it’s the world’s worst polluter, it has been harming the planet for decades. It depends on water-intensive production, uses toxic dyes, and the extensive air-polluting travel linked with fashion shows also set bad records.

South African Fashion Week is now branded as the “business of ethical fashion” after a  22-year legacy as one of Africa’s most prestigious fashion entities, under the vision of its founder and chief executive, Lucilla Booyzen, going digital to re-think fashion shows.

Nigerian fashion designers can’t easily brushed out of the context, as their achievements and records speaks volumes in the fashion industry.

Other African countries like Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon are also fashion oriented countries.

The need to survive in this period of lockdown has made the above listed countries to think outside the box to stay afloat financially.