Nigerian teen climate activists create fashion from waste

Welcome to Lagos' "Trashion Show" where models strut down a catwalk wearing rubbish outfits - literally.

Their clothes are made from discarded plastic bags.

The event is run by teenage eco-warriors such as 15 year-old Esohe Ozigbo.

''The Trashion Show means a lot to me, I have been doing it for years and it is like a way of showcasing to everyone what we can do with the trash we so carelessly discard, and I really think it is like us making a statement and showing that we care about the environment and you should too. We are just teenagers but we are trying to like make a change in the world."

The environmental activists stage their shows in shopping malls, mixing fashion with advocacy in a bid to spread a green message.

Plastic waste and litter is ubiquitous in Lagos, the commercial capital of Africa's most populous country, Nigeria.

With more than 20 million people, the megacity generates 10,000 metric tons of waste every day.

Ozigbo and her group participate in community clean-ups, recently wading through a mass of plastic pollution that blocked a waterway.

They’re supported in their mission by Green Fingers Garden, a not-for-profit conservation group founded by Chinedu Mogbo.

“...Together we went out, we picked up the plastics, we cleaned the environment. But rather than just taking everything maybe to a dumping site or so, we felt we get creative with it, so we decided to spruce things up and start the Trashion Show.''

Ozigbo said she hopes the shows made shoppers think about their actions and cites Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg as her inspiration.

'We are the generation who are going to be like leading in a few years, and like the older people at the end of the day they will end up leaving this earth and we will be the ones left with it, so we need to start now because in a few years it is going to be too late to do anything.''