Ousainou Gaye is a sustainability researcher, fashion innovator, and advocate working at the intersection of environmental responsibility, creative industries, and education. He is currently a doctoral researcher at Erasmus University Rotterdam, where his PhD focuses on sustainable fashion systems, textile-waste management, and circular-economy models tailored to the needs of developing nations, particularly in West Africa. His research received international recognition when his abstract was accepted for presentation at Yale University’s Sustainable Fashion Consumption Symposium (October 27–29, 2025), where he will present comparative work on sustainable fashion and circularity.

In addition to his doctoral work, Ousainou serves as a Researcher in Education at Playtos, contributing to innovation-driven, youth-centered projects that merge creativity, sustainability, and community development. He is also the founder of Sustainable Fashion Gambia and H-Closet, two initiatives dedicated to advancing eco-conscious design, ethical production, and emerging creative talent in The Gambia and the broader West African region.

Ousainou’s professional experience includes positions with the British Embassy in Rome, where he worked on climate and environmental policy analysis, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO), where he supported youth-focused sustainability research, global capacity-building programs, and educational tools promoting climate resilience and agrifood innovation.

Through his academic scholarship, policy experience, and community-based entrepreneurship, Ousainou aims to strengthen circular systems in emerging economies and elevate African perspectives in global sustainability conversations.