–Arola Oluwehinmi
There’s a new kid on the sustainable block, and they’re making serious waves in the global fashion community. Meet Gelalli. Gelalli is a Nigerian-based e-commerce platform that showcases conscious, ethical designers from around the world, with an emphasis on Africa. With responsible consumption capturing the modern fashion conversation in a way that has never been done before, Gelalli provides a much-needed avenue for those who “design with people and the planet in mind.” The platform offers consumers the opportunity to shop for beautiful, high-quality garments without having to compromise on what matters.
Gelalli’s reach is already outpacing its age. From the red carpets of Lagos Fashion Week to the NAACP Awards in Los Angeles, the platform has staked out a presence that few young companies manage so quickly. Kenyan-American influencer Achieng Agutu and actress Tenicka Boyd have both been spotted in Gelalli pieces — a signal that the platform’s vision of African-led, consciously made fashion is finding an audience well beyond the continent.
To understand what makes Gelalli distinctive — and why it matters — it helps to have a framework. The Earth Logic Fashion Action Research Plan, a radical proposal developed by professors Kate Fletcher and Mathilda Tham, prioritizes Earth’s health over economic growth. Two of its values are especially illuminating here: Grounded Imagination, which asks how creative vision can be reconciled with hard environmental and economic realities; and Care of World, which centers the wellbeing of ecosystems and everyone within the value chain. Gelalli, it turns out, is a living demonstration of both.
But where could one find the inspiration for such a magical fashion marketplace? Founder Ifunanya Dozie has all the answers.
Ifunanya Dozie wearing a beautifully crafted dress with fire in its design made using upcycled materials
The idea for Gelalli came to Dozie after she had already spent over a decade in the clean energy sector. After managing multi-million dollar solar energy projects, facilitating the widespread adoption of solar home systems across Nigeria, and providing clean energy solutions for underserved communities, Dozie decided that she wanted to set her sights on the fashion industry.
This shift was characterized by her growing desire to confront an issue with which she was all too familiar: the debilitating amount of textile waste that has plagued the Global South for several decades.
It’s no secret that, to this day, the leading exporters of used clothing continue to dump their copious amounts of second-hand waste into this geographic area without any regard for the nations on the receiving end. Through this flawed system of international trade, countries like the US, UK, and China force nations in the Global South to bear the brunt of their overconsumption.
The environmental toll is severe: overwhelmed landfills, polluted waterways, ecosystems pushed past their limits. But the economic damage runs just as deep. Across the Global South, local garment industries are being gutted by the sheer volume of cheap imports — industries that took generations to build.
Dozie, however, decided that enough is enough. Through her establishment of Gelalli and yet another startup that diverts textile waste from landfills called Future Textiles Africa, she has embarked on a journey to achieve a sustainable and circular fashion ecosystem.
With her earlier campaign for World Earth Month, Waste to Wonder, Dozie spoke about the motivations behind her work.
“I love fashion, and I love the creativity around it,” says Dozie, “but I can’t help but see the impacts that the fashion industry has on our environment.”
“If you think about fashion from the beginning of the process, from developing textiles and garments all the way through to the end of life, a lot of waste is being generated, and nothing is happening to that waste.”
Dozie also discussed the role that consumers play in this fight for a more ethical fashion landscape.
“Consumers should look at the brands that they’re supporting and ask the hard questions, ask how they are trying to achieve sustainability. And sustainability is not just about circularity, it also has a social aspect [to] it. Asking questions like, how are [brands] treating their staff? How are they treating their workers through the value chain?”
Looks from the Gellali marketplace
“I think these are important questions that consumers need to ask in addition to reducing the amount of textiles in garments that we buy…It’s really important to try to see how we can buy better quality pieces that can last longer so that we don’t have to throw them away and they end up in landfills again.”
In conversation, those two Earth Logic values surfaced unmistakably. On the question of Grounded Imagination — how creative vision holds up against hard realities — Dozie was disarmingly pragmatic.
“I’m appreciating the learning process and the fact that it’s low stakes when I’m learning these things,” she answered. “The repercussions aren’t as great as they potentially could be. As a result, I’m also using this opportunity to teach others. If lack of awareness is the issue, then Gelalli is a platform where people can learn.”
On Care of World — how Gelalli prioritizes the environment and members of its value chain — Dozie offered a window into their selection process.
“We have strict criteria for how we select our brands. This includes physical visits and extensive communication to ensure that they are as authentically conscious as possible.”
Dozie also spoke about how Gelalli seeks to work with local brands that preserve dying cultural techniques and textiles. These techniques have been passed down from generation to generation, but the influx of new textiles from places like China and India has made it harder to preserve them. Cultural protection remains central to the Gelalli selection process, and keeps the platform rooted in its philosophy.
Returning to Waste to Wonder, Dozie alluded to Nigeria’s specific role in this fight against global textile waste.
“I think just overall, it’s a really good initiative to use creativity and use design and use things that are natural to us in Nigeria to help amplify this important message of reducing waste.”
She ended the campaign with a call to action and an appeal for a more empathetic approach to consumption.
“The main issue is a lack of awareness. Not many people know about the impact of the fashion industry, and I think knowing and caring is also another thing. Why should we care about the impact of textile waste going to landfills? If you care about your environment and you care about global warming…you’ll find ways to become more circular and reduce our reliance on virgin materials, given that there’s an abundance of waste that can be put to good use.”
If Gelalli proves anything, it’s that Earth Logic isn’t just an academic framework — it’s a blueprint that founders like Dozie are already living out. The fight for an ethical fashion environment requires creative vision grounded in reality, and genuine care for every ecosystem and every person within the value chain. Dozie has both. The question, as she sees it, is whether the rest of us are paying attention.
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