Fashion is an integral part of Nigerian culture, with a diverse range of styles and trends that reflect the country's rich history and traditions. However, the fashion industry is also one of the most polluting industries in the world, with harmful environmental and social impacts. Sustainable fashion aims to address these issues and create a more responsible and ethical industry. In this article, we will explore how sustainable fashion can be achieved in Nigeria and what steps can be taken to make it a reality.
The Fashion Style of an Average Nigerian
The fashion style of an average Nigerian is diverse, vibrant, and colorful, with a fusion of traditional and modern elements. Nigerian fashion draws inspiration from various sources such as local cultures, music, art, and global fashion trends. Traditional Nigerian attire such as the Ankara, Aso-Oke, and Adire fabrics are often incorporated into contemporary designs, creating a unique and distinct style.
However, the fast-paced nature of the fashion industry has led to the production of cheap, disposable clothes that are harmful to the environment and exploitative to workers. Many Nigerian consumers are also unaware of the impact of their clothing choices on the environment and society.
Sustainable Fashion in Nigeria
Sustainable fashion aims to create a more responsible and ethical fashion industry that considers the environmental, social, and economic impacts of clothing production and consumption. In Nigeria, sustainable fashion can be achieved through various approaches, including:
        •                        Promoting Local Production and Consumption: Supporting local designers and artisans who use sustainable materials and production methods can create jobs and stimulate the local economy while reducing the carbon footprint of clothing production and transportation.
        •                        Reducing Waste: The fashion industry generates a significant amount of waste, with clothes being discarded after only a few wears. Promoting the use of recycled materials, the concept or use and reuse, and creating a longer shelf life for clothes and accessories.
        •        Embracing Slow Fashion: Slow fashion often consists of durable products, traditional production techniques, or design concepts that strive to be season-less or last aesthetically and materially for longer periods of time.
The concept of Slow Fashion reflects a perspective, which respects human living conditions, biological, cultural diversity and scarce global resources and creates unique personalized products. The impact of slowness aims to affect many points of the production chain. For workers of the Fashion industry in Nigeria, Slow Fashion means higher wages. For end users, Slow Fashion means that the goods are designed and manufactured with greater care and high quality products. From an environmental point of view, it means that there are less clothing and industrial waste removed from use following transient trends. Emphasis is laid on durability; emotionally, materially, aesthetically, and/or through services that prolong the use-life of garments. New ideas and product innovations are constantly are constantly redefining Slow Fashion, so using a static, single definition would ignore the evolving nature of the concept.

In a nutshell, it is important that we shift our gaze towards the trends in the fashion industry around the globe, we can make our own impact in making our planet a safe place for all life forms and at the same time, preserve our cultural heritage, we should embrace sustainability and reduce the amount of wastes, reduce deforestation to the barest minimum, water, air and land pollution can also be eradicated and we can make the world a better place.

JeSuisHollar,
March, 2023.
IG: @je_suis_hollar, Twitter: @jesuishollar_
This Article is based on the research of the author with references from Wikipedia.