About
The Sew London Project CIC actively contributes to a circular economy and waste reduction through its business activities centred on sustainable fashion and community engagement. Here's how:
Circular and Waste-Reducing Activities
- Preloved Clothing and Rentals:
- Sales: Sew London sells a curated selection of preloved clothing, reducing the demand for new clothing production and its associated environmental impacts.
- Repair and Alteration Services:
- Professional repair and alteration services encourage individuals to fix and reuse their clothes instead of discarding them. This practice reduces textile waste and promotes the reuse of existing materials.
- Workshops and Education:
- The project offers hands-on workshops teaching sewing, repair, and alteration skills. These empower individuals to care for and extend the life of their clothing, aligning with sustainable consumption practices.
- Repair Cafés:
- Partnering with local councils, Sew London hosts repair events where community members can learn to mend their garments. This fosters a culture of repair over disposal and reduces landfill contributions.
- Textile Repurposing:
- Collaborating with waste management companies, the project repurposes clean textiles donated by partners, such as John Lewis and Loop Recycle. These textiles are resold or repurposed, and the profits fund further health and wellbeing workshops.
- Community and Social Prescribing:
- The organization supports mental health and wellbeing through social prescribing services, offering workshops to reduce loneliness and improve dexterity and memory. These services help individuals build confidence and connect with their community while engaging in circular practices.
Environmental and Social Impact
Through its integrated approach to repair, reuse, and education, the Sew London Project:
- Reduces textile waste by extending the lifecycle of garments.
- Promotes sustainable consumption and a shift away from fast fashion.
- Builds a skilled and environmentally conscious community.
- Contributes to health and wellbeing through social prescribing initiatives.
This holistic model not only aligns with zero-waste goals but also addresses broader societal challenges, such as loneliness and mental health, while fostering a sustainable future.
Kemi Oloyede: Advocate for Sustainable Fashion and Community Empowerment
Kemi Oloyede is an artist, educator, and fashion designer committed to sustainability and community well-being. With over 20 years of experience in art, Fashion and textile education, she founded The Sew London Project, a social enterprise dedicated to reducing textile waste and promoting circular fashion through sewing, repair, and upcycling.
Raised in the UK and Nigeria, Kemi completed secondary education and majored in Fine Art painting at Yaba College of Technology, Nigeria’s premier art institution. She later returned to the UK to earn a Cert Ed Fe in Art Education at Greenwich University and pursued additional training in fashion.
After a 21-year teaching career in Fine Art, Textile Technology, and Fashion, Kemi left full-time teaching in 2013 to launch The Sew London Project. Her enterprise offers workshops that teach essential sewing and upcycling skills, empowering individuals to reduce their environmental impact while fostering creativity and independence.
In addition to running therapeutic sewing programs for women affected by domestic violence and social prescribing services to improve health and well-being, Kemi established Recyclothes, a clothing brand creating garments from upcycled materials. During the pandemic, she sewed NHS scrubs and developed lip-reading face masks for special needs groups.
Her efforts have garnered recognition, including Business Woman of the Year at the Women’s Empowerment Awards (2017). She has been featured in The Guardian, Good Housekeeping, and Red Magazine and appeared on BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show to discuss the decline of sewing skills in the medical field.
Through her work, Kemi inspires mindful consumption, fosters a culture of repair and reuse, and demonstrates the power of creativity to drive sustainable change.