Uganda will mark its 64th Independence Day on Friday, October 9, 2026, with celebrations taking place across the country. The anniversary also offers an opportunity to look at local creative businesses using indigenous materials, recycled fabrics and locally rooted design to rethink fashion and craftsmanship.
Across the sector, sustainability is taking different forms. Some designers work with barkcloth and other indigenous materials, while others use discarded or second-hand fabrics, upcycling them into new garments. Others have built businesses around locally produced agricultural products.
Among the brands associated with this movement are Mashach Jewelry, José Hendo, Afro Muru, KAKAZI studio, IGC Fashion and Qwezi Beauty.
Mashach Jewelry, founded in 2020 by Phyllis Ampumuza. The brand produces sculptural accessories using materials including clay, recycled materials and gold-filled components.
Ampumuza, who has a background in finance and economics, developed an interest in jewellery after travelling to India, according to the brand’s account of its origins. Mashach Jewelry draws on African jewellery traditions while adapting them for contemporary use.
The brand says it aims to make statement jewellery that remains lightweight and suitable for everyday wear.
Barkcloth and the circular fashion movement
Ugandan-born British designer José Hendo has built much of her work around barkcloth and other materials associated with sustainable fashion.
Hendo’s work includes organic and recycled textiles, upcycled garments and barkcloth from Uganda. Her R3 campaign promotes the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle, while her Bark To The Roots initiative supports the preservation and wider use of Ugandan barkcloth.
Barkcloth is made from the inner bark of the Mutuba tree. UNESCO recognises the barkcloth-making tradition in Uganda as intangible cultural heritage. Hendo has used the material extensively in her collections and has exhibited barkcloth-based work internationally.
Her work has also included upcycling existing garments and combining them with barkcloth, an approach aimed at extending the life of clothing and reducing material waste.
Fashion rooted in communities
IGC Fashion, founded by designers Katende Godfrey and Kasoma Ibrahim, describes itself as a Ugandan creative social enterprise working across indigenous fashion, education, community development and environmental justice.
The brand uses materials including barkcloth, raffia, sisal, shells and other materials in its designs. Its current work also includes community programmes and initiatives aimed at supporting young creatives.
IGC says all of its production is carried out in Uganda, with a predominantly young, female workforce, while its community programmes include masterclasses, residencies and outreach activities.
The designers also established Kwetu Kwanza, a sustainable fashion festival that focuses on circular and regenerative design. The festival was founded in 2019 and has developed into a platform for discussions around the environmental and social impact of fashion.
Afro Muru, founded by Kampala-based multidisciplinary artist Murungi Kevin, is another brand working with an upcycling and slow-fashion approach. The brand was established in 2020 and produces unisex clothing, including kimonos, trousers, shorts and T-shirts, according to published profiles of the label.
Murungi has cited his mother, a seamstress, as an early influence on his interest in clothing and design. His work combines contemporary fashion with African cultural references and textile design.
Fashion and identity across borders
London-based KAKAZI studio was founded in 2018 by Nabiséré Nicole after she graduated from Central Saint Martins’ womenswear programme.
Nicole grew up between Uganda and the United Kingdom, an experience that has influenced the studio’s focus on identity, belonging and African and Caribbean experiences.
KAKAZI describes itself as a multidisciplinary lifestyle brand. Its products are made to order, while the wider platform also includes oral histories and creative projects focused on culture, heritage and community.
The brand’s sustainability approach is therefore linked not only to materials and production but also to its emphasis on limited, made-to-order lifestyle products.
Beauty products from Ugandan moringa
Sustainability also extends beyond clothing.
Qwezi Beauty, a brand owned by Raintree Farms, was launched in Kampala in January 2020. Raintree Farms is a social enterprise based in western Uganda that processes moringa-based products and works with smallholder farmers.
Qwezi’s products include moringa oil and beauty bars. The company says its products use different parts of the Moringa oleifera plant, including seed oil, seed cake and leaf powder. Its moringa seed oil is produced from seeds grown by small organic farms in Masindi, according to the company.
Raintree Farms says its supply chain currently involves more than 250 smallholder farmers and indirectly benefits almost 2,000 people. The company describes its farming model as climate-smart and based on perennial crops, with moringa as a central crop.
The different approaches taken by these businesses reflect a wider effort among Ugandan designers and creative enterprises to connect fashion and manufacturing with local materials, cultural heritage and community development.
Their work also shows that sustainability in Uganda’s creative sector is not limited to recycling clothing. It includes preserving traditional production methods, using agricultural products in new industries, producing locally and creating opportunities for communities involved in the supply chain.
