Fighting Fast Fashion: Inside Africa’s Biggest Sustainable Style Revolution | Melissa Lewis

Loading player...
This week on The Social Impact Show, Sam Marshall sits down with Melissa Lewis (Show Director, All Fashion Sourcing Cape Town 2025) to unpack how Africa’s premier fashion event is tackling fast fashion, fakes, and waste—while empowering young designers.

🔍 Key Takeaways:
The rise of the conscious consumer: Why Gen Z demands to know "who made my clothes?"
From trash to trend: How SMMEs are turning plastic bottles, tennis balls, and waste into wearable art.
Fighting fakes: The battle to protect local creativity (and why it matters for SA’s economy).
Meet the future: TFG’s incubator program and the 270,000-strong young designer competition.

💡 Why Listen?
"Sustainability isn’t a trend—it’s survival." — Melissa on fashion’s $500B waste problem.
"Your wardrobe votes for the world you want." — Sam on ethical consumerism.

🎟️ Event Spotlight:
All Fashion Sourcing Cape Town 2025 (July 8–10, CTICC) – Where industry leaders like Nedbank and the City of Cape Town back African innovation.
8 Jul English South Africa Business · Non-Profit

Other recent episodes

Biosphere 2: The $82,000/Day Experiment That Proves Earth Is Irreplaceable

In this episode of Tipping the Scale, Bernadette Bule unravels the shocking story of Biosphere 2—the 1990s experiment where scientists sealed themselves inside a $150M replica of Earth… only to face oxygen deprivation, food shortages, and infighting. 🔍 You’ll Discover: What the biosphere really means (and how your daily habits…
8 Jul 19 min

From Everest to Empowerment: Angela Yeung’s Brave Climb for GBV Survivors

🏔️ "I summited Everest with frostbitten cheeks and a backpack full of bras – because survivors deserve dignity." – Angela Yeung In this powerful Social Impact Show interview, Angela Yeung (mountaineer, jeweler, and founder of Impilo Collection Foundation) shares: 🔥 The Ascent: What it’s like to be the 2nd South…
8 Jul 28 min

Ports, Poisoned Snacks & Power Plays: Kanthan Pillay’s Fixes for SA

🔧 "South Africa’s problems need systemic solutions – not quick fixes." – Kanthan Pillay In this week’s How to Fix South Africa, author and analyst Kanthan Pillay tackles: ⚠️ The Spaza Shop Crisis: Why cracking down on shops won’t stop poisoned snacks (and what will) The supply chain criminals who…
7 Jul 29 min

Service as Strength: How Women Lead with Purpose (Winning Women Wednesday)

💫 "When women embrace service as power, they change the world." – Katie Mohamed This week on Winning Women Wednesday, Katie Mohamed and Sam unpack: 🔥 The difference between being OF service vs. IN service – and why both matter 💡 Stories of African women leaders – From Yvonne Chaka…
3 Jul 34 min