Slow Textiles South Africa

Founded by Pretty Tsholofelo Ndlovu, Slow Textiles is a Textiles innovation organization that aims to divert textile waste from South African landfills and manufacture sustainable, durable, traceable materials for the fashion, home, and vehicle manufacturing industries. 

THE PROBLEM WE REALIZED IS :Every year, 17million tons of textile waste is discarded, ending up in landfills and at our shores. 40% of this waste includes unused textiles and unsold clothes around the globe. The fashion industry is the 2nd largest polluting industry on earth.

The alarming fact is, about 13.8 million South Africans live below the poverty line, barely affording basic necessities, including the very clothes that other people gladly throw away.

HERE'S A BIT MORE BACKGROUND : Slow Textiles was founded with a mission to divert textile waste from landfills and create income opportunities for communities in South Africa, as a solution to these problems.We’ll collect fabric waste from households, retail and manufacturing spaces to reproduce fabric for the fashion and furniture industries; partnering with our clients and competitors in creating a vast, circular, waste-free textile value chain with durable and traceable textile products. 

As we grow, we’ll work on developing and supplying sustainable fabric such as hemp, cotton and flax silk, and in the near future, we aim to develop fabric using fibres from banana peels, mango peels and pineapple leaves.Industry research experts estimate the Circular Economy of the Textiles and Fashion Industry to be worth up to $5Trillion globally; and it's an emerging and fast-growing market in South Africa. For us, this means thousands of untapped income opportunities that'll empower communities as we build a shared revenue business model!

For the past 12 years, I've collected over 5000 unwanted garments from individuals and corporate donors around the country for a matric ball charity and this gave me a front-row seat to the economic and logistical dilemma of overconsumption in fast fashion, as well as the impact it has on the environment.We're the first textile recycling company to launch in Gauteng and the first textile innovator in South Africa. We plan to take full advantage of this untapped market to go public within the first 3 years of operations, allowing us to quickly expand our reach and maximize our impact.

We'll be able to expand nationally and internationally cutting major transportation costs  by training manufacturers in local communities, certifying them to become Slow Textiles certified manufacturers globally. We are seeking 13million rands (770 000 USD) in startup capital in the form of a grant along with strategic partnerships to move to R&D then our prototype and launch stages.

We're excited to have received an expression of interest in collaboration from of the biggest fashion and home and lifestyle organizations in South Africa.​​

With a well-versed team of sales specialists, textiles innovation researchers, scientists and engineers; along with business operation experts specializing in textiles, our goal is to turn over R1,5million in monthly revenue.

Join us on our mission to divert textile waste from lanfills and create global income opportunities for the unemplyoyed youth of South Africa.

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