By Ijeoma Emeh
Goodwill SF Bay has established itself as a leader in sustainability, working to reduce the negative social and environmental impact of the textile industry. We have diverted over 40M pounds from the landfill and teach people how to repair and refurbish electronic items through our recompute program. For Black History Month, Goodwill SF Bay commemorates the contributions that Black people are making in this space.
Black Sustainable Creators
We love what Black creators are doing to elevate awareness in their quest to champion sustainability as a lifestyle. Meet some of our favorite sustainable fashion content creators and designers:
Aliya Wanek (@aliyawanek)
Aliya Wanek is a Bay Area-based womenswear brand focused on exploring the connection between one’s identity and style. Their mission is “to create comfortable, stylish clothing ethically and sustainably as an extension of the wearer’s individuality.” Aliya focuses on reducing her brand’s environmental impact by sewing garments herself and working with local small factories and contractors in the Bay Area to produce and dye her garment.
Taylor Jay (@shoptaylorjay)
Taylor Jay is an Oakland native and designer who started her company to fill the gap of inclusivity and sustainability in comfortable clothing. With her degree in Fashion Merchandising, Taylor opened her flagship store in Oakland where she works with a fair-labor factory in Oakland, California to produce environmentally safe garments.
Tiana Pollard (@tiana.pollardd)
Tiana Pollard is a Toronto-based fashion and lifestyle creator. She shares her thrift hauls and outfit ideas to express a unique personal style, using reworked and thrifted pieces. Tiana is a rising star, and a gem to watch on screen.
Aarica Nichole (@aaricanichole)
Aarica Nichole is a video creator focused on a “thrifted wardrobe with fun colors.” She has turned her passion for thrifting into becoming a vintage reseller and interior designer. Aarica mixes vintage and modern styles to capture her full personality when it comes to fashion and interior design.
Brio RaShawn (@briorashawn)
Brio RaShawn is a content creator focused on fashion sustainability. Brio shares her love for a thrifted wardrobe on her social media and YouTube channel by showing thrift hauls, and various ways to uniquely style pieces. Her edgy and cool outfits are beautifully captured on her Instagram which leaves one inspired and wanting more.
Autumn Adeigbo (@autumn_adeigbo)
From being inspired by her Nigerian mother to working with top fashion stylists, Autumn Adeigbo is not new to the fashion game. Having one of her degrees in Fashion Design, Autumn “designs colorful, fashion-forward clothing for women who like to stand out in a crowd.” Autumn embraces sustainability in her business “by purchasing in limited quantity and producing only what is ordered, minimizing fabric waste, excessive manufacturing, and surplus stock.” Autumn is an inspiration, and an entrepreneurial force to be reckoned with.
Ifeoma Amadi (@ifeomaamadi)
Nigerian-based fashion and lifestyle creator, Ifeoma, popularly known as the svnflwr (sunflower) has a keen eye for the best thrift finds. As a brand manager and fashion IT girl, Ifeoma’s love of the small details is beautifully showcased along with her fabulous thrift finds on her Instagram feed. She educates her followers on best thrift practices and promotes thrifting and shopping locally.
Shayla Janel (@shaylajanel_)
Shayla Janel is a freelance stylist, style blogger, and fashion activist who reworks and sells clothes she finds at thrift stores. Her fashion line, Random and Chic offers a mix of thrifted vintage and sometimes reworked pieces “for the girls who want to purposefully stand out”. Shayla has merged her love for sustainable fashion and thrifting into a unique business that inspires her followers and shoppers.
Ada by Vanessa (@ada.by.vanessa)
Nigerian-born and American-based fashion designer Vanessa is a talented designer bringing her piece of home to the Western world. Her designs are full of colorful prints which she showcases at fashion shows across the country. She sketches her designs and then sends them to her hometown team in Enugu, Nigeria, where she sources ethical fabrics and works with people who hand sew the made-to-order designs.
Deja (@angeldeja)
Deja is your stylish fashion girl next door. They explore their fashion by styling thrifted pieces and recreating outfits from items they already own. This inspires their followers to experiment and think creatively about their clothing items. Deja is a style icon in the making.
Whitney Madueke (@whitneymaduekewm)
New York-based Whitney Madueke describes herself as a “beauty girl with many interests,” one of them including being a Creative Director for her namesake fashion brand, Whitney Madueke. Her collection of limited made-to-order pieces highlights a mix of African & Western designs. Whitney celebrates African culture through attainable sustainable luxury by sourcing and producing locally in the US and Nigeria.
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