Our Mission:

Create inclusive work and training for artisans through upcycling.

  • The Matilda Flow Inclusion Foundation (MFI Foundation) is a non-profit community-based organization in Greater Accra, Ghana.

  • We transform textile waste sent to Ghana from the Global North into upcycled clothes, bags, accessories, and other denim and tie-dye products.

  • We create work and job training positions for artisans — especially women and/or persons with disabilities — who have been displaced by the global fast fashion industry and the secondhand clothing trade.

  • Our organization was founded by Matilda Lartey, a fashion designer and community activist, and is governed by a Ghanaian board of directors. We work in partnership with a 501c3 non-profit organization in the United States called Make Fashion Clean (MFC Tie-Dye Inc.).

  • Follow us on Instagram @mfifashionghana for our latest updates.


 

How We Upcycle Textile Waste in Ghana:

Matilda Lartey, Founder and Executive Director of the MFI Foundation, shares about upcycling at the MFI Foundation studio, which diverts textile waste from landfills, open-air dumps, and the environment in Ghana

 

Our Programs:

  • The MFI Foundation collaborates with our partner MFC Tie-Dye Inc. to sustain our upcycling partnership that aims to divert and transform textile waste sent to Ghana from the Global North through the creation of upcycled products. This keeps textile waste out of landfills, open-air dumps, and the environment and also generates living wages for artisans displaced by the global fast fashion industry and secondhand clothing trade.

    Click here to learn more about our upcycling partnership.

  • The MFI Foundation operates an upcycling studio in Greater Accra, Ghana. Our upcycling studio aims to generate living wages in the creative economy through work and training positions for artisans. Our studio is primarily for artisans who are women, persons with disabilities, and/or parents of children with disabilities. As of 2023, we work with approximately 10 artisans in short or long-term positions at a time.

    Click here to learn more about work and training positions for artisans created through our upcycling studio.

  • The MFI Foundation is looking for collaborations with brands, designers, and organizations with a strong commitment to social and environmental responsibility. We specifically seek to work with partners that are willing to invest time in building a relationship, provide resources for professional development in areas within our production processes that require changes to meet your production needs, and support our organization in our vision of becoming financially sustainable and growing our programs.

    Click here to learn more about the ways that the MFI Foundation could collaborate with you as a production partner.

  • The MFI Foundation is active in our community through providing in-demand training programs around skills such as soap-making. We also advocate about issues that are important to artisans at our studio. This includes advocacy around the inclusion of persons with disabilities and their family members in business and the creative economy. We also collaborate on advocacy and research initiatives on an international scale with our partners at MFC Tie-Dye Inc. and the Aftermath Learning Lab at Boston College with a focus on global textile pollution, policy, environmental education, and art advocacy.

    Click here to learn more about the MFI Foundation’s collaborations in advocacy and research.


News Spotlight on the MFI Foundation:

 
 

Artisan programs at the MFI Foundation featured on Joy News Ghana


MFI Foundation Products on the Runway:

 

Made in Ghana trade fair shows off MFI Foundation products

 

Other Ways to Take Action: