Nigeria: Plastic bottles and wrappers hit the runway in Lagos

Plastic bottles, food wrappers and metal can tops took centre stage on a Lagos catwalk as young designers turned litter into fashion to spotlight marine pollution, Africanews via Associated Press reported on 24 October.

The event, held on October 22, was organised by environmental group Greenfingers Wildlife Initiative, and featured outfits crafted from beach-collected waste. Its theme, ‘Sea Turtle Awakening: Our Oceans, Our Turtles,’ was chosen to highlight plastic’s threat to marine life, particularly turtles.

Greenfingers, founded in 2012, is active across Nigeria and neighbouring countries. Its campaigns include rehabilitating injured turtles entangled in marine debris and engaging in coastal cleanups.

Leading the grassroots effort is founder Chinedu Mogbo, who explained that the show is meant to “raise awareness and help tackle the issues” facing ocean life.

Volunteer designers, students and young activists collected plastics from coastal communities, then fused them into garments using bottle caps, straw pieces, sachets, discarded packaging and more.

The concept aimed to reimagine discarded materials as fashion, using art to spotlight the vastness of the waste problem.

Nigeria produces an estimated 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, much of which ends up in rivers, lagoons and the Atlantic, threatening coastal ecosystems and local livelihoods. Environmental activists warn that West Africa’s shoreline is now among the world’s most affected by plastic pollution, with marine animals regularly found entangled or ingesting debris.

For the teenage models, the runway was both a creative challenge and a platform for activism. Victoria Okoh, one participant, said she was “amazed” to convert disregarded waste into something “beautiful.”

Fellow designer Eze Chidalu said, “Beauty is not only fashionable but it can also be sustainable … this is very meaningful.”

Greenfingers has done similar educational projects in Ghana, Benin and Sierra Leone, targeting schools and coastal communities with conservation and waste-management messages.

Mogbo hopes that by marrying fashion and environmentalism, the show will stoke a broader movement especially among young people to turn awareness into action.

Africanews via Associated Press, Maghrebi.org