Ghanaian fashion designer Larry J brings a message of sustainability to New Jersey

An international designer is in the Garden State this weekend to showcase his sustainable fashion line created with fabrics that may have once been in your donation pile.

Have you ever wondered what happens to the clothes you donate or drop off at donation bins? While a large portion of these clothes end up going to the charities that collect them, a large portion of them end up being deemed unusable and risk ending up in the trash overseas. That’s where Ghanaian fashion designer Larry J.

“Growing up in a very poor neighborhood, we were used to seeing all these clothes in our landfills and also in our bodies of water,” says Larry J.

Larry J has been working in the fashion industry since 2012, starting with accessories. In 2017, he turned to clothing, focusing on used clothing. He says it’s more than just clothes. Her fashion line repurposes clothing that would otherwise end up in landfills and waterways in her native Ghana.

“Starting a brand is not just about making clothes, but about making a change by reusing the waste we have in our immediate environment into something of value,” he explains.

GreenAmerica.org reports that an average of 700,000 tons of used clothing is exported overseas. Countries like Ghana import 6,000 tons of used clothing each month from major brands and manufacturers in the United States and Europe. Larry J says little of it is usable.

“Most of the stuff they bring in there is maybe 40 percent okay, and 60 percent is just trash,” he says.

In this full-circle moment, designer Larry J brings his brand’s message about sustainable processes to New Jersey where he will showcase his designs Friday night at Beauty Bar by Camila Mello in Livingston.

“We just want people to be very conscious about their consumption. Instead of just donating, you have to be sure about where your clothes are going, and that makes you sustainable as an individual,” he says.