S8 Ep14 CHEMITEI JANET: Kenya-based slow fashion educator - on sustainable waste management around Gikomba market in Nairobi, and the reality of overproduction in the fashion industry.

Pre-Loved Podcast is a weekly vintage fashion interview show, with guests you’ll want to go thrifting with! For more Pre-Loved Podcast, subscribe to our Patreon!

On today’s show, we’re chatting with Chemitei Janet. Chemitei Is an environmentalist and slow fashion educator based in Kenya. She does storytelling and educational work in sustainable waste management for organizations like Greenpeace Africa, Clean Up Kenya, and Threading Change, and her mission is to highlight the reality of waste and the fashion industry in Kenya. 

On today’s show, we talk about how Chemitei got into secondhand clothing, her love of crochet, and the incredible local upcycling community in her area. Plus, we unpack the challenges of sustainable waste management in and around Gikomba market in Nairobi – Chemitei believes the market brings into perspective the reality of overproduction and overconsumption in the fashion industry and it is important that everyone sees what really happens to clothes that end up in countries where they’re not necessarily needed.

I really loved getting to speak with her and learn more about sustainability from her point of view – I think you’re going to really enjoy this episode, so let’s dive right into it! 

DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:

• [4:05] Chemitei’s experiences with fashion and the secondhand market growing up.
• [11:58] The different kinds of secondhand markets she visited in Kenya over the years.
• [14:57] Whether she knew it or not, Chemitei grew up with a lot of sustainability values from her family.
• [30:47] Why there is so much secondhand clothing in Kenya today.
• [33:40] The Changing Markets Trashion Report, and how the state of the secondhand clothing in Kenya has changed. Today, 20–50% of the used-clothing in bales they buy is unsellable due to poor quality.
• [52:31] The upcycling community in and around Gikomba market and throughout Nairobi. 
• [1:05:00] The most cherished pieces in Chemitei’s closet. 

EPISODE MENTIONS: 

• Chemitei Janet
• Gikomba Market in Nairobi
• Trashion Report by Clean Up Kenya and Changing Markets Foundation
• Rummage Studio
• Africa Collect Textiles
• Mabatini Studio
• 25SW4P

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