Nigerian Teens Create Fashion from Trash to Fight Pollution

By DAN IKPOYI and CHINEDU ASADU

Jalokun Nifemi, wearing an outfit made from recycled newspapers, waits back stage before a 'trashion show' in Sangotedo Lagos, Nigeria, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Teenage climate activists in Nigeria’s largest city are recycling trash into runway outfits for a “Trashion Show.”

Chinedu Mogbo, founder of Greenfingers Wildlife Initiative, a conservation group working with the activists, said the show was designed to raise awareness about environmental pollution.

Lagos, one of Africa’s most populous cities with more than 15 million people, generates at least 12,000 metric tons of waste daily, authorities say. And implementation of environmental laws is poor: The World Bank estimates that pollution kills at least 30,000 people in this city every year.

This year’s show came just as world leaders wrapped up two weeks of U.N. climate talks in Egypt.

In collaboration with young activists and models, the Greenfingers Wildlife Initiative says it’s out to recycle as many plastics as possible, one community at a time.

It organizes regular trash clean-ups across communities, at drainage ditches and beaches. The plastic litter is then used to create fabrics for the fashion show.

Draped in red plastic spoons and fabric, 16-year-old Nethaniel Edegwa said she joined this year’s edition as a model “to make a change.”

“We can see that we are all being affected by the climate change, so I really want to make a difference,” Edegwa said.

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Asadu contributed from Abuja, Nigeria.