The fashion industry is one of the major contributors to heavy pollution worldwide. Whether through online shopping or real life shopping, we fall in love with a piece, buy it, wear it just a few times, and then toss it out of our wardrobe, even if its in good condition, although many of these pieces would rather be reused or recycled.
Nayera Yasser, founder of the new independent e-commerce platform ‘Wekala’, is a young Egyptian fashion enthusiast who felt guilty for her constant dependence and support on fast fashion for years. After stumbling upon the stock-clothes market two years ago, she realized that pre-loved clothes were an ideal option for her to wear her favorite brands, and still stay environmentally-conscious.
“I used to tell everyone who would listen about those great suppliers that I kept meeting. But, everyone in my circle used to shower me with concerned questions about pain points. One conversation after the next, it was only a matter of time until I decided to take it upon myself and bridge the gap between the two worlds, in hopes to introduce a convenient system and new digital experience to normalize buying rescued clothes,” said Yasser.
In efforts to advocate for second-hand clothes, give them the second chance they deserve, and change the way most people shop, Wekala strives to “eliminate all taboos related to second-hand clothes through providing a convenient experience and removing stereotypical pain points”. They filter the pieces in search for the ones in good to excellent conditions, then throughly clean and package them, to later deliver them to their clients.
“As we speak, billions of people around the world mindlessly follow the rapid pace of fast fashion and end up with tons of unneeded clothes. On average, each piece of clothes is only worn 7 times before it is discarded. As the entire industry has been talking about fast fashion, the clothes were recognized as the great villain instead of the cycle and process themselves. These garments deserve to be recognized as beautiful and worthy creations that deserve to be rescued,” she added.
Yasser highlighted that buying from Wekala is good for the environment, the local stock-clothes dealers, and your personal wardrobe, since you’d be purchasing rare and unique brands that are often not even available in the local market. So practically everybody wins!
This is just the beginning of what they hope would be a conscious consumption movement in Egypt, promoting the culture itself more and more in society, and launching a website in the future, aiming to reach a wider audience.
“We want Wekala to become synonymous with high-quality, ethical, conscious and trendy fashion,” concluded Yasser.