The African Development Bank’s Fashionomics Africa initiative has named a women-led Kenya shoe design house as the winner of its competition. The competition aims to support producers of sustainable fashion.

Pine Kazi, which converts pineapple leaf and recycled rubber into fashionable footwear, won the $2,000 Fashionomics Africa competition cash prize. Besides, the business will have the opportunity to showcase its creation in online events. It will also share insights on key sustainability challenges facing the industry, and receive a certificate.

Co-founders of the design house

Moreover, the brand, co-founded by Olivia Okinyi, Angela Musyoka, and Mike Langa, will have access to media opportunities. Also, it will receive mentoring and networking opportunities from competition collaborators. Kazi’s co-founders expressed their delight with the award as they share their views.

“Pine Kazi is greatly humbled to be the winners of the first Fashionomics Africa contest in Africa. This is indeed an honor to the Kenyan people and the African continent at large”,
Okinyi

Meanwhile, Okinyi wrote in Pine Kazi’s competition entry that if they won, they would invest half the winnings in machinery used to make shoe source materials.

“[This machinery] will see pineapple leaf waste put to work and create more green jobs for unemployed youth”.
Okiny

On the other hand, Musyoka said “all our dreams can come true if we have the courage and the patience to pursue them”.

The design house stated that it will divide the resources equally between research and the development of natural dyes. The other areas are the acquisition of professional stylists, and the establishment of a centralized production system.

The fruit waste eco-friendly footwear

Competition judges said Pine Kazi’s shoes are innovative and sustainable. The upper of the shoe is made from pineapple textile, while the inside is lined with organic cotton. Also, Kazi used sisal plant fiber for the sole , fitted with recycled tyre underneath.

“The shoes are 100% handmade to reduce carbon footprint and can last three years”
Pine Kazi.

A four-member panel of judges

A panel of four judges representing the Bank and competition collaborators reviewed 110 entries from 24 African countries and selected three finalists. They included Pine Kazi, CiiE Luxuries, an eco-friendly accessories business based in Abuja, and clothing brand Labake Lagos.

“We were pleasantly surprised by all the applications received for the first edition of our Fashionomics Africa competition. It was very difficult to make a choice. But, the finalists stood out with their innovative, durable, and contemporary designs”
Emanuela Gregorio, coordinator of the Fashionomics Africa initiative at the African Development Bank.

Procedure for choosing the winner

An online public vote by 986 participants determined the winner. Pine Kazi got 400 votes, 318 votes went to CiiE Luxuries, and 268 to Labake Lagos. Competition judge and a Program Director at New York-based Parsons School of Design, Brendan McCarthy, congratulated Pine Kazi during the competition winners’ announcement last Friday.

“You transformed waste materials from pineapples into profound new textiles and absolutely beautiful new shoes”.
Brendan McCarthy

The AfDB noted that women applicants represented 65% of the total applications the bank received. Moreover, the businesses were predominantly micro-enterprises (54%), solo entrepreneurs (35%), and small businesses (12%).

Fashionomics Africa

Fashionomics Africa is an initiative of the African Development Bank to increase Africa’s participation in the global textile and fashion industry value chains – with an emphasis on women and youth. The contest honors African fashion brands working to change how fashion is produced, bought, used and recycled. The aim is to encourage more sustainable consumer behavior.