A different throw-away society? Kasarani, Nairobi

“Do you think sustainability and eco-friendliness shape your conception of fashionability?” I ask. After careful consideration, Dan smiles, “I think sustainability is our everyday life. Say when you throw some clothes in the street, they will be automatically recycled and have their second lives.”

As a 20-year-old, Dan wakes up at 5:30am every morning, to read and to handwash his own clothes before going to school. He lives in Kasarani, a Nairobian neighborhood of lower socioeconomic status, yet with many aspirational dwellers running a variety of businesses along the streets. Many of these street-smart entrepreneurs sell food, kitchen utensils, wigs, and second-hand clothes, among other things.

Dan always dreams of doing something big in his life, apart from finding a full-time job after graduation (less than 10% of Kenyan adults can eventually secure one). His room-home is a 10 sqm one, and his ideal wardrobe a two-tier wall shelf (he colour-illustrated it on a paper for us) where his clothes can be neatly folded and arranged, suiting his organized character. He also regularly sprays fragrance on his clothes to make them smell good, and himself confident.

Right now, he is satisfied with his “portable wardrobes” - two cardboard boxes - one keeping his active clothes and the other the inactive ones.

It’s around 3:30pm now. We help Dan carry his goods to the street, and set up his store together. On our way back to Westlands, my sneakers are already mud-splashed. And my heart is filled with the smiles of these curious Kenyan kids.