What was once discarded is now a unique treasure. We transform upcycled shirts into one-of-a-kind creations, giving them a new life and purpose. Witness the magic of turning waste into something beautiful and sustainable.
I’ve been in love with secondhand clothes since I was a teenager. There’s something about the story behind each piece — where it’s been, who wore it, why it was loved. I started selling vintage at 18, and always imagining it would one day lead to creating my own brand. So here we are.
Patcha was born out of a mix of gut instinct, frustration with the fast fashion system, and a deep belief that clothes can be made differently — with joy, creativity, and care for the planet.
Here’s how it all unfolded:
2018
I started selling vintage when I was 18 — just a rail of handpicked pieces and a love for clothes that told stories. It was my first step into fashion, and I was hooked.
2023
I took a chance and set up a stall at Portobello Market in 2023. I was just looking for a bit of extra cash after coming back from travelling. Now 2 years later we have a perminat stall there and will find PATCHA Vintage there every weekend
2023
That summer, I interned at a sustainable fashion tech company in Amsterdam. It opened my eyes to the bigger picture: how tech and design can help us rethink fashion’s future.
2023
Later that year, I travelled to Kenya. Seeing the effects of fast fashion first-hand in the Mitumba's- piles of discarded clothes, communities overwhelmed by waste - changed everything. I thought I cannot create a fashion brand that produces new, but instead incorporates waste.
May 2024
In Nairobi, I took 5 damaged shirts to a local tailor and asked them to turn them into a pair of trousers. When I saw the result, I knew I was onto something. I made 60 more - and they sold.
That’s when Patcha was officially born.
Since then, we’ve sold over 1,000 pairs of trousers and saved more than 6,000 damaged shirts from landfill. And we’re only just getting started.
September 2024
Patcha won the Sustainability Award at Burghley. It was such a proud moment !
So much more to come, and thank you for all your support so far. We couldn't do it without our amazing customers.
In 2022, during a journey through Kenya, I was struck by the immense impact of the fast fashion industry on the slums of Nairobi.
The statistics were staggering: over 900 million pieces of second-hand clothing flood into Kenya annually from the global north, with 30-40% being completely worthless. The damaged, low quality & synthetic fibre clothes (plastic), usually end up in Eastern Africas largest landfill site, Dandora, where it is stacked up as high as a 4 story building in some places, left to be burnt or washed away into the local rivers. It is a shocking site.
But let's pause and unpack this. Consider the summer blouse you recently dropped off at your local charity shop. You purchased from a big corporate brand last year, you wore it once or twice before deciding you were done with it. It felt good to declutter. But where does it end up? Chances are, it's among the flood of garments making their way to Kenya's mitumba markets.
It's a journey from your closet to the slums, from a fleeting fashion trend to a precarious existence in a distant land. At Patcha, we're rewriting this story. We're partnering with local traders Mitumba markets and tailors accross Nairobi salvaging garments with untapped potential for a new lease on life. Each piece we rescue isn't just clothing; it's a narrative waiting to be continued. So as you slip into your Patcha reworked creation, know that you're you're wearing a story. You're making a statement for sustainability and individuality.
Thanks for reading & purchasing consciously!
Chloe
Discover how fast fashion contributes to environmental damage in Kenya and learn about sustainable solutions to reduce clothing waste. Learn how we are trying to make a difference.