Value Chain
From the organic cotton cultivation to the finished garment, our T-shirts are made locally in Tanzania and Kenya. On this page you can discover step by step how your fashion is produced.
I. Design via collaborations
We develop the majority of our designs through collaborations with artists from different African countries. We are currently refining the T-shirts with hand-woven fabrics, printed designs or African WAX prints and will continue to expand our range with new collaborations.
Handwoven cloth
We work with Abimbola Creations, a small weaving workshop in Nairobi, Kenya. Together we design the unique patterns for our shirts, which are then woven by hand.
Printed designs
Here we work with artists like Fatuma Hassan (aka Fatish Arts) from Uganda. Her digital designs are printed on the T-shirts in Hamburg, Germany. In the future we plan to create more designs with different artists.
African wax prints
These are our own T-shirt designs, without collaborations, in which we refine plain T-shirts with African WAX prints. The fabrics used have different regional names (e.g. Kitenge, Ankara). They have a special historical and cultural significance in the fashion world of many African countries.
II. Cotton cultivation (organic)
in Tanzania
Source: KC*
Our (organic) cotton is grown in Tanzania on small rain-fed farms without artificial watering. The cotton plants are planted in a thick layer of humus on moist soil during the 3-month growing season, using a combination of traditional and modern farming methods.
Small farmers benefit from fair cotton prices and sustainable cultivation.
Farmers who cultivate (organic) cotton benefit from prices that are set above the world market price. This means that the price of conventional cotton quoted at a certain point in time, depending on the fibre quality, is increased by 7-15% to cover the increased costs of organic cultivation. In addition, the farmers benefit from a purchase guarantee for their quotas and a price premium (price differential), which includes the costs of possible crop failures, investments in seeds as well as covering the needs of the cooperative members, e.g. expenses for school fees, healthcare and housing. The cooperative currently comprises 18,000 small farmers who cultivate organic cotton on 16,218 hectares.
By growing crop rotation crops such as mung beans (green gram), split peas (yellow gram), maize, millet, sunflowers or peanuts, farmers are provided with an additional income. Furthermore, the cultivation of these crops automatically reduces pest infestation, maintains soil fertility, regulates the removal of nutrients from the soil and prevents soil erosion.
Fertilizers and pesticides are obtained organically from compost, cattle manure and domestic plants such as the Niembaum. In this manner, pollution-free and at the same time inexpensive mixtures of crushed seeds and water are used against insect pests.
In this video from 2017, Ashura and Zacharia from the Biosustain smallholder cooperative in Singida give you an insight into their work. You will find out about the cotton growing in rain-fed farming, natural methods of keeping pests away from the fields as well as parameters of fair pricing for (organic) cotton.
Source: KC*
III. Further processing of cotton (organic)
in Tanzania
Source: KC*
Further processing in the cotton gin
In the next step, the harvested cotton is brought into the Cotton-Gin*, a textile machine which separates the cotton fibres from the sticky seed pods. This is done with the help of small wire hooks that pull the cotton fibres through a sieve whereby the seeds remain in the sieve.
Find out more in this video.
Source: KC*
IV. Fabric production and dyeing
in Arusha, Tanzania
Source: KC*
The cotton fibres are then pressed into bales and taken 325km to Sunflag Ltd. in Arusha where yarns are manufactured and further processed into fabrics.
In this video we show you how the cotton fibres are cleaned, spun into yarns and processed into fabrics by large circular knitting machines. Also, Aditya answers the question of how the industrial wastewater from the dyeing process is recycled.
Source: KC*
V. T-shirt production
in Nairobi, Kenya
The materials are then transported 272km within the EAC (East African Community) to Nairobi, Kenya. Here they are processed into T-shirts by WFTO member Straightline and refined, for example, with our hand-woven Kikoy cloth.
Fair Trade Thought Further: Reserves and Micro Credits
Besides living wages, regulated working hours, a works council and basic medical care, Straightline offers additional benefits to their employees.
For each item of clothing that we produce at Straightline, an additional "Price Premium" of € 0.15 - € 0.25 goes into a reserve fund for employees. This fund is managed by the Straightline Self Help Group, which consists of the Straightline works council as well as employee representatives.
The Straightline sewing team and Ebou from COLLAB Clothing (2nd from left) in Nairobi, Kenya.
This enables all employees to get access to micro credits – if necessary at short notice – to make personal investments, e.g. in construction projects or pension preparation, paying their children’s school fees or setting up their own small business alongside working at Straightline to generate an additional income.
Source: KC*
V. Coordination and sales
from Germany
Ebou from COLLAB Clothing
COLLAB Clothing is based in Hamburg where production and sales are coordinated. The young brand is still in its starting phase and is managed and owned by Ebou.
You can find all the products in the COLLAB online shop or you can sign up to our newsletter to be informed about new collections, special offers or pop-up events.
* In order to produce and finance the as yet small quantities of the collections, COLLAB Clothing is part of a cooperation with several small German fashion labels, coordinated by Kipepeo Clothing in Stuttgart. Our T-shirts are produced with the help of this cooperation. This is why photos and videos marked "Source: KC" as well as most of the texts about the ecological and fair production in East Africa come from Kipepeo Clothing (KC).