What we have planned

Mikono means hands in Swahili.

We are a Kenyan female black-owned business.

Our goal is to promote diversity in the fashion industry and create more opportunities for Kenyan creatives and professionals in the fashion industry.

Mikono works to create a customer-centric e-commerce experience.

Mikono also offers a rare plus, curvy, and plus size offering.

All year round we support Kenyan designers and support their professional development on a daily basis.
Mikono wants to address the lack of access to resources and funding for black designers so their work is better represented.

We are already working on transforming textile production in Kenya into a circular industry.

Mikono supports the community of our team and their families. In principle, they master challenges together and develop the best solutions in a collective approach.

We rejoice in life on earth.
Together we can put purpose above profit and protect this beautiful planet, our only home.

HARAMBEE SPIRIT

mikono was founded with the aim of bringing Kenyan designers around the world and promoting economic development in Kenya. To fulfill this mission, we measure our impact in four ways:

1. Economic development
Job creation is just a start. By creating new products that have never been made in Kenya before, we aim to create better jobs both at mikono and in the local supply chain. Jobs that require skills and result in higher wages. We measure this by the proportion of our costs that goes into wages in Kenya.

2. Supporting local communities
Part of the purchase price of each mikono goes to social initiatives in Kenya, we call them the mikono Community Foundation. We work with a panel of experts to find projects where we can make the greatest impact for people who need help the most. In the spirit of the Harambee idea, we then decide together with our global community of mikono customers which projects we support.

3. Reducing the environmental impact
We are proud to be a carbon neutral certified company. The first in Africa and the first carbon neutral road running shoes. This means that we not only reduce waste in packaging and production, but also:

1. Measure
In cooperation with Climate Neutral we measure our total carbon footprint. The Kenyan electricity grid is 90% renewable, so we're in a pretty good position.

2. Balance
We buy carbon offsets for the total amount we generate as a company and not just for the CO2 emissions generated by each mikono.

3. Decrease
We make plans to reduce our footprint. By 2024, we will reduce business travel emissions by 60%, reduce freight emissions by 80%, and reduce company-wide paper use by 70%.

4. Change the way the world sees Kenya
This is the most difficult to measure, but perhaps the way in which we will have the greatest impact over the long term. We want the whole world to know the creativity and skill that can be found in Kenya. When you see "Made in Kenya" on a label, it should automatically mean quality and modern style.

If you have an idea on how we can most effectively measure our impact on this trend, please get in touch.

biodiversity

We are also concerned with animal and plant protection and the protection of natural resources. We are committed to biodiversity and/or habitat conservation. We fight animal cruelty, environmental pollution or promote a positive coexistence of economy and nature.

convey knowledge

Through research, teaching or media work, we promote the dissemination of information, education and knowledge. We develop solutions for current social problems, invest in education or knowledge transfer for future generations in order to continuously optimize communication, design and technology at the interface between people and the environment.

help people

Helping people in their current situation is mikono's top priority. We support care for the sick or elderly as well as neighborhood help and see the strengthening of a common understanding as an essential basis for our coexistence.

make society fair

Justice and fairness is our concern. We want to give everyone the same opportunities. Starting with education, inclusion and equality, we fight discrimination or develop ideas and measures that should contribute to positive change in society in the long term. We are committed to humane working conditions along the entire value chain of our products.

Business consciously

We build on the use of regenerative energies and/or the reduction of the resource consumption of our planet. We support recycling, the no-waste principle or Cradle to Cradle.