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N Y A N I

@nyaniso.b

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I build things & talk about things
Sustainability • Fashion • Human Rights • Systems
Founder @onethread.africa | Speaker + Writer
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We’re delighted to share that OneThread Africa has been shortlisted in The Future of Our Planet at the Investec ESEYs, powered by OPUS. We’re building towards a more sustainable future for African fashion, and we’re proud to see that mission recognised. Public voting is now open. We’d love your support: https://www.theeasies.com/vote Thank you to everyone backing the journey so far. @OPUS, #DayZero and @Investec #ESEY #OneThreadAfrica by @nyaniso.b
OneThread felt like a pipe dream when I first thought of it. I remember excitedly telling my boyfriend at the time about the idea and being told, “You’re a designer and a copywriter. Stay in your lane.” And honestly, for a while, I wondered if he was right. There have been so many moments building OneThread when I’ve asked myself why me? It also happens to be one of the first questions investors ask. For a long time, I struggled to answer it. Until I realised: because I care enough to do the work. I’ve spent six years researching African sustainability. I’ve listened to brands, designers and people across this industry. When I didn’t know something, I learned. When I couldn’t do something myself, I found people who could. And somewhere along the way, “why me?” became “why not me?” Building something that hasn’t existed before is scary. Doing it while raising two children is occasionally unhinged 😂. And there have absolutely been days when I’ve wanted to choose something easier. But I keep coming back because I believe deeply in what we’re building. So seeing my name among @directorwoman 2026 Future 54 Leading Women feels a little surreal. Especially alongside 53 incredible women doing extraordinary things across Africa. I’m learning to stop shrinking every time someone makes room for me. To acknowledge that this work matters. That I belong in these rooms. And that I’m allowed to be ambitious about what comes next. One of my favourite quotes is one of my own: Nice girls don’t make history. Turns out, maybe I was in my lane all along. ❤️ #future54 #leadingwoman #sustainablefashion by @nyaniso.b
Cape Town entrepreneur Nyani Tutu Burris, the founder of OneThread.Africa has secured $100,000 in funding to expand a technology platform designed to help African sustainable fashion brands prove, measure and showcase their impact to the world. From connecting creators and brands to building trust through data and verification, @onethread.africa is positioning itself at the intersection of fashion, sustainability and technology. “Africa has always been sustainable. OneThread builds the system that proves it.” Read the full story on @SuccessfulJournals. Link in bio. #Fashion #Media #Distribution #OneThreadAfrica #SuccessfulJournals by @nyaniso.b
Friend Feature Friday (yes it's Saturday blame Eskom): @salseralina 🤎 Alina is one of the first friends I deliberately chose for myself as an adult. We met at an art and luxury car event a couple of years ago, and somehow just connected. She’s an artist, dancer, storyteller and an actual ball of light. It’s difficult to spend time around Alina and not believe in yourself. 😂 She’s also ridiculously generous. At that event, I mentioned I hadn’t eaten, and she immediately ordered about 30 pizzas for everyone. I went home and told my mother about this very cute Latina hun who ordered pizza because I said I was hungry. 😭 That’s Alina. Generous with her resources, time, space, attention and energy. I hope she feels that same generosity from me, because the friendships I want to build should feel reciprocal. Alina grew up dancing bachata, salsa, merengue and other Latin dance styles. Today, she performs professionally, creates choreography and teaches. Through a school initiative in New York, she’s introducing children to Latin dance, its culture and the joy of performance. I love that she gets to share something she’s carried since childhood with a new generation. If you’re in New York, keep an eye out for her at dance mixers! 🤎 She lives in New York and I’m in Johannesburg, but if we go two or three days without calling, we both assume something is wrong. 😂 I recently saw a piece of art and immediately thought of something Alina would draw. That’s one of my favourite things about friendship: people become part of how you experience the world, even when they’re thousands of kilometres away. I use the fact that I chose Alina as a reminder that I make good choices for myself. And I mean that. I’m grateful for her creativity, generosity, her light and a friendship that makes the world feel a little bigger. Mostly, I’m grateful I chose her. 🤎 by @nyaniso.b
Sometimes you have to look back to realise how far the work has taken you. by @nyaniso.b
Can you really judge a fashion brand’s sustainability by looking at its fabric? 👀 At @safashionweek , I found myself thinking about how quickly we judge a garment’s sustainability by the materials it uses. But what if we’re looking at only one part of a much bigger picture? Materials matter. Of course they do. But so do the people making our clothes, the waste generated during production, how long a garment lasts, the communities a brand supports, and whether the business can sustain its own practices. When I started researching African fashion and sustainability six years ago, I realised that we were asking brands to solve a much bigger problem with a very narrow definition of sustainability. For many emerging designers, choosing certain materials can come with real financial and practical constraints. And sustainability doesn’t stop at the fabric label. This is one of the reasons we built OneThread around 10 sustainability pillars. Because understanding a brand requires us to look beyond the garment and examine the decisions, systems and relationships behind it. We need a more nuanced conversation about what we’re expecting from brands, what sustainability looks like in practice, and how we help businesses strengthen what they’re already doing. So, what actually makes a fashion brand sustainable? And are we asking the right questions? I’ve unpacked this in our latest blog. Go read the full piece on the OneThread website. 🔗 Link in bio. Let’s move beyond judging the fabric and start understanding the whole system. Sustainable by tradition. Provable by data. #OneThread #SustainableFashion #AfricanFashion #FashionSustainability #CircularFashion Sustainability by @nyaniso.b
A little late, but we’re here. 😂🧡 Welcome to Mental Health Monday! ✨ High point: Fashion Week! A reminder that even when life is lifing, there are still beautiful moments worth celebrating. Low point: Johannesburg electricity. Or, more accurately, the complete lack thereof. We are TIRED. Something I’m grateful for: Every single person who voted for us. We’re in the TOP FIVE in our category, and I genuinely cannot thank you enough. Every vote, share and bit of support means so much. Something I like about myself: My delusional faith that everything will somehow work out, even when absolutely everything seems to be going left. Is it rational? Not always. Is it keeping me going? Absolutely. Something I love about someone in my community: My brother. He makes music, he’s a genuinely dope human being, and I’m lucky to have him in my corner. My promise to myself this week: 10,000 steps a day, six days in a row. I fumbled it last week, so we’re running it back. No excuses. 😂 A reminder that looking after yourself doesn’t always mean having it all figured out. Sometimes it’s celebrating the highs, being honest about the lows, appreciating your people, and holding onto a little faith when things get messy. Your turn: What’s one thing you’re grateful for this week, and what’s one promise you’re making to yourself? 🧡 #MentalHealthMonday #OneThread #WeeklyCheckIn #KeepGoing by @nyaniso.b
African fashion needs sustainability and traceability infrastructure built around the environments it operates in. That’s what we’re building at OneThread Africa. Our story is in these slides. We’re early in the journey, and being shortlisted in *The Future of Our Planet* at the Investec ESEYs means a great deal. I’d love your support to help us reach the finals. Voting closes on Thursday 29 October. Vote link in the first comment. by @nyaniso.b
3 More days! Public voting for the @investec ESEY Awards closes on 29 October at 11:59pm, so if you haven't already: please make your way to the voting page and give me a vote! (Direct voting link is on the @onethread.africa bio) @join.opus by @nyaniso.b
A couple of weeks ago, I reached out to Jackie May at @twygmag about contributing as a writer. She asked for writing samples, so I sent them. Then I waited. And followed up. And waited some more. 😂 Eventually, after several missed attempts at a coffee, Jackie mentioned that she was here for @safashionweek and invited me as her plus one. And that is how I ended up front row at SAFW last night. The fashion was incredible, but the highlight was spending time with someone whose work in sustainable fashion I genuinely admire. We had a proper conversation and dinner together, and I walked away with an experience I wouldn’t have had if I’d talked myself out of sending that first message. Three things this reminded me: 1. Shoot your shot, but be prepared. When Jackie asked for writing samples, I wasn’t scrambling. My LinkedIn was updated, and I had published OneThread blogs ready to share. You don’t need to have everything figured out, but be ready when the door opens. 2. FOLLOW UP. People have lives. Emails get buried, messages get missed, and people get busy. Silence isn’t automatically rejection. You’re allowed to remind people you exist. 3. Get comfortable with hearing no. I’d rather find out what’s possible than decide what’s impossible on somebody else’s behalf. A clear no is a no, obviously, but don’t reject yourself before someone else has even had the chance to respond. We’re often so apologetic about wanting things that we never send the email, ask for the meeting or submit the work. We decide we don’t belong in the room before we’ve even tried to get in. The writing opportunity is still unfolding, and I don’t know where it will lead. But I don’t need to know the outcome to appreciate the experience. You don’t have to know something will work out to give yourself permission to try. Stop closing doors on your own behalf. Thank you, Jackie, for such a lovely evening. ❤️ ✨ THE LOOK Outfit: "Ghetto Princess" collection by @malwandles_house Sunglasses: @bonabywenzy_m Shoes: Foschini Bag: Mystery brand, because apparently I can’t account for all my belongings. 😂 by @nyaniso.b
Friend Feature Friday: @kirstybows_ 🤎 I’m still not entirely sure how Kirsten and I became friends. I’m pretty sure @jamiethurstonwyngaard had something to do with it, and then somehow we were just… friends. 😂 I remember being intimidated by her at first. She was SO focused, ambitious and driven, at a time when I was still figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. And honestly? I still admire that about her. Kirsten is one of the most talented people I know. She’s an INSANE violinist. I’ve watched her take over a dance floor alongside a DJ, with an entire room absolutely losing their minds. There’s something incredible about watching someone so completely in their element. She’s creative, disciplined, wildly ambitious, family-oriented, and somehow also makes ridiculously good pasta. A woman of many talents. 😂 But what makes Kirsten special is that she brings that same intentionality to her relationships. She’s thoughtful in ways that genuinely surprise me. I’ve realised my friends have set the bar ridiculously high for dating. When I think about what I want in a partner, I look at how my friends already love me. Kirsten once drove across FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC because I wanted to see cows. So when I say my standards are high, I’m not making them up. I’m looking at the people who already love me and thinking, why would I accept less? With Kirsten, I can be soft, vulnerable and need support. But we can also dream, strategise, build and push each other to grow. And our friendship has room for honesty. We’ve had our differences, but we’ve learned to say when something hurts, listen, apologise and move forward. Because the friendship is worth protecting. Accountability can be an act of love, not a threat to the relationship. I admire the woman Kirsten is, the talent she carries, the life she’s building and the way she makes space for the people she loves. I’m grateful for the ambition, artistry, honesty, pasta and emergency cow sightings. But mostly, I’m grateful that I get to know this extraordinary woman beyond the stage. That’s my girl. 🤎 by @nyaniso.b
A letter from our CEO! 📈 African fashion brands, manufacturers and sustainability leaders: how do you prove the impact of the work you’re already doing? From responsible sourcing and ethical production to traceability and transparency, sustainability requires more than good intentions. It requires the systems, data and evidence to demonstrate progress. At OneThread.Africa, we’re building sustainability infrastructure to help African fashion businesses understand their current practices, identify gaps and turn sustainability commitments into measurable progress. Our latest blog explores why the future of sustainable fashion depends on stronger systems, and why Africa must help shape them. Read more: https://www.onethread.africa/blog/the-future-of-our-planet-needs-more-than-solutions-it-needs-systems Sustainable by tradition. Provable by data. #OneThreadAfrica #SustainableFashion #AfricanFashion #FashionTechnology #SupplyChainTransparency by @nyaniso.b

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