About & Mission
The gap was never willingness. It was infrastructure.
“In a world thriving to flourish towards sustainability, the way we track and manage waste must be as intelligent as the systems that generate it.”
The problem
Why this exists
Rapid urbanisation and consumerism have led to an unprecedented increase in municipal solid waste, particularly in fast-growing towns such as Eldoret. The lack of effective, tech-enabled waste tracking systems and low awareness of sustainable disposal practices have resulted in environmental degradation, unregulated dumping and missed opportunities for recycling.
This challenge extends to the fashion industry, where textile waste and fast fashion consumption patterns contribute significantly to the growing urban waste crisis. Integrating circular waste management and sustainable fashion practices — textile recovery, upcycling and ethical sourcing — can not only reduce landfill burden but position the fashion sector as a model for responsible production and consumption.
The disconnect between waste generators, handlers and recyclers undermines national and global efforts toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals — especially SDG 11, SDG 12 and SDG 13.
Objectives
Commitments by the end of 2026 and mid 2027
The four the programme is measured against, and what each one commits it to doing.
- 1
Develop and launch a socio-tech, user-centric digital platform
A platform that is user-friendly for consumers, retailers and producers, enabling real-time tracking of waste generation and disposal, with personalised insights, assessments and reminders — including a dedicated section for the fashion industry and a digital textile traceability system.
- 2
Establish strategic partnerships with stakeholders
Collaborate with educational institutions, NGOs, policy makers, government bodies, scientists and innovators — extending to fashion schools, apparel brands, mitumba traders and textile manufacturers — to co-create campaigns and research on sustainable fabric use, responsible sourcing, biodegradable materials and sustainable dyeing.
- 3
Launch a Global Waste Responsibility Challenge and Milestone Recognition System
A gamified responsibility framework that motivates consumers, producers and retailers alike to adopt responsible waste practices — including the Green Wardrobe Challenge, with recognition badges and digital certificates spotlighting eco-conscious designers and responsible consumers.
- 4
Develop a centralised assessment and reporting dashboard
Real-time evaluation of waste management behaviour across all user groups, fuelling inclusive community engagement across the residential areas around Moi University in Eldoret to begin with, and monitoring fashion-related waste streams to guide policy reform and extended producer responsibility.
Origin
Where this started
Sustainable Vision Vortex Org started from an ordinary observation: almost everyone in the pilot zones already knows that waste is a problem, and almost nobody has a practical way to act on that knowledge at the moment it matters — the moment something is bought, and the moment it is thrown away.
Kenya has two things that make a technical answer plausible: very high mobile penetration and near-universal M-Pesa usage. It also has an already-active network of local recyclers and collectors whose work is real but largely unrecorded. The gap was never willingness. It was infrastructure.
Eco-Friendly Tech is our answer: one connected ecosystem — a public website, a role-aware mobile app, and a stakeholder dashboard — that turns everyday purchase and disposal decisions into actions that can be tracked, rewarded and reported on. Alongside it runs a dedicated textile module, because in this market clothing is not a side issue.
Vision
To create a world where technology and creativity unite to empower every individual to live consciously and sustainably, a world where waste transforms into opportunity, fashion embodies responsibility and communities flourish in harmony with nature.
Mission
To harness technology, creativity and community collaboration to promote responsible production, sustainable consumption and ethical fashion. By connecting waste intelligence systems with advocacy, the project empowers individuals, institutions and industries to track, reduce and repurpose waste, turning environmental awareness into collective action for a greener, fairer and circular future.
Campaign
Pilot cities: Eldoret
How we work
Six commitments we design against
Explain, never scold
Every instruction the platform gives is paired with the reason it matters. Tone is encouraging and explanatory rather than punitive — that is a design rule, not a preference.
Nobody gets designed out
The platform must work on an entry-level Android handset on an intermittent connection, and degrade to SMS for users without smartphones. Otherwise the communities we most want to reach are the ones we exclude.
Verify before you reward
Incentives only arrive once the logging loop is trustworthy. Rewarding actions the system cannot yet verify is the fastest route to gamed data and lost confidence.
The work is already happening
Collectors, tailors and recyclers are not a group to be created. They are a network to be equipped, recorded and paid properly.
Data belongs to the people it describes
Purchase linkage and location are explicit, revocable opt-ins. Partner and regulator reporting is aggregated and de-identified by default.
Clothing counts
Textiles are treated as a first-class stream, not an afterthought — traced from purchase through repair, resale, upcycling or material recovery.
SDG alignment
Reporting against goals, not adjectives
The measurement framework reports against the goals the initiative already speaks to, so impact reporting to government and donors is credible from day one.
SDG 12 — Responsible Consumption and Production
Barcode-level product tracking, extended producer responsibility data, and a circular textile exchange.
SDG 11 — Sustainable Cities and Communities
Collector scheduling, waste hotspot mapping and urban pilot zones.
SDG 13 — Climate Action
CO₂-equivalent savings tracked per diverted item and per upcycled garment.
SDG 8 — Decent Work and Economic Growth
Formalised income streams for waste collectors, tailors, artisans and young designers.
SDG 4 — Quality Education
Community training kit, sustainable fashion education kit and school outreach programmes.
Feasibility
Why this can work here
The technology choices lean deliberately on conditions that already exist, rather than on conditions we would have to create.
- High mobile penetration and near-universal M-Pesa usage
- Urgent national need for sustainable waste strategies
- Government interest in SDG-linked projects
- Local recyclers and collectors already active
- Citizens increasingly aware of climate change and waste issues
- Growing youth and fashion-community interest in sustainable design, upcycling and ethical production
Roadmap
Six phases, built in order
The programme is scoped, costed and funded phase by phase rather than as a single large build. This website is the Phase 1 deliverable.
Phase 0 — Foundation & Digital Setup
CompleteEstablish digital presence, identity and communication systems
Brand and design system, social channels, newsletter platform, public holding site, internal onboarding and role assignment
Phase 1 — Platform Blueprint & Awareness Launch
In progressPublish the public platform and open partnership channels
Full public website with dynamic sections and collaboration portal, partnership mapping, first awareness campaign and analytics
Phase 2 — MVP Development & Beta Testing
PlannedProve the core loop — scan, guide, log, schedule
Citizen and Collector app modes, waste category database, colour-coded sorting flow, notification engine, initial eco-points, beta cohort and feedback report
Phase 3 — Pilot Rollout & Storytelling
PlannedTest real-world impact in the pilot cities
Deployment across the Eldoret pilot zones, retailer and producer onboarding, participant training, 'From Waste to Worth' story series, awareness events
Phase 4 — Circular Fashion & Marketplace
PlannedActivate the textile differentiator
Textile Tracker, upcycling and repair directory, circular marketplace with M-Pesa checkout, Green Wardrobe Challenge, sustainable fashion education kit
Phase 5 — Dashboard, Evaluation & Scale
PlannedDeliver oversight and prepare expansion
Full stakeholder dashboard, real-time reporting map, volunteer directory, e-brief communication centre, impact evaluation, roadmap for regional expansion and AI integration
Team & resourcing
Who delivers this
An indicative core delivery team. Several roles are part-time, shared, or filled through student and volunteer placements, consistent with the project's youth-innovation emphasis.
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Product / Project Lead | Roadmap, stakeholder alignment, phase-gate reporting |
| Mobile Developers | The React Native application across all seven roles |
| Web Developer | Public website and stakeholder dashboard |
| Backend Developer | Shared API, data model, integrations, sync logic |
| UI/UX Designer | Design system, role-specific flows, accessibility and localisation testing |
| Data / Impact Analyst | Dashboard metrics, evaluation framework, reporting |
| Community & Field Coordinator | Collector, retailer, school and volunteer onboarding and training |
| Communications Lead | Campaigns, storytelling, e-briefs, social channels |
| Fashion & Circularity Advisor | Textile module design, artisan and designer network |
| Data Protection Contact | Privacy compliance, consent design, incident response |
Partner with us
Government, NGO and donor partnerships open with a short conversation, not a proposal.