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A stitch in time: The Bokgabo ba Mašela: Art of Textiles exhibition, which is on at the University of Pretoria Museums until 15 October, includes works using embroidery, quilting and other forms of needlework.
ART

Textiles as testimony: Stitching together stories of struggle, survival and gendered history

Textiles hold memory, meaning and power – challenging erasure, celebrating resilience

  • Puleng Segalo
5 min read
Material change: Bernie Molepo is the founder and managing director of Cosmopolitan Sourcing. Photo: Allaister Russel
BERNIE MOLEPO

From tea lady to MD – the power of self-belief

Bernie Molepo started her own fabric and wallpaper sourcing company

  • Lesego Chepape
4 min read
Retail trade sales decreased by 1.6% in March 2023 compared with March 2022, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Wednesday.
BEVERAGES

Retail sales decline 1.6% in March as belts are tightened

The largest negative contributors to the decrease were retailers in food, beverages, tobacco and general dealers

  • Anathi Madubela
1 min read
Powerful plan: Saldanha Steel was originally formed as a partnership between Iscor and the Industrial Development Corporation and was arranged by Jan Smuts, below. Photo (above) : Dori Moreno
ELECTRICITY

Clear vision led SA’s industrial revolution

Lessons from when Jan Smuts drove the industrialisation of South Africa in the form of electricity and steel to benefit an elite community

  • Mzukisi Qobo
7 min read
A motion put forward by an opposition MP aims to have parliament declare South Africa’s entire Free State province, which borders Lesotho. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy & Pieter Bauermeister/Bloomberg
AFRICA

US fashion contaminates Africa’s water

Untreated effluent from textile factories in in Lesotho, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius and Madagascar pours into rivers, contaminating the water

  • The Continent
  • Pascalinah Kabi
5 min read
About 20% of global water waste and 10% of global carbon emissions are produced by the fashion industry, according to United Nations Environment Programme estimates
CLOTHING

From rags to riches — if we support local clothing manufacturers

Reviving our industry to its former glory is possible. We have the infrastructure, talent, and a population that is eager to work. Now we just need consumer buy-in.

  • Denver Berman-Jacob
6 min read
On show: The Fashion Revolution exhibited clothes by the Swedish Institute at the Future of Fashion Symposium 2019. (Thabo Matsepane)
ESETHU CENGA

Weaving ethics into fashion

Fashion looks glamorous but it’s not. Behind the glitz is environmental and social damage

  • Palesa Segomotso Motsumi
5 min read