Green is the new black: the Philippine firms making high fashion from recycled scraps
- Dresses made of flour sacks, trendy shoes from textile scraps and the designer bags giving a lift to impoverished mothers
- Welcome to the fashionable side of the upcycling industry
Merlita Manicad knows a thing or two about creating something from nothing.
Ten years ago, she lost her home to flooding caused by one of the most powerful storms ever recorded: Super Typhoon Haiyan.
As her family’s sole breadwinner, Manicad knew she had to turn her life around and fast. So she scraped together what little money she could – 500 pesos (US$10) – and started the business she had long dreamed about, selling fashionable apparel and accessories.
A decade on and her creations are creating a stir at the Philippines’ National Arts and Crafts Fair, an annual four-day gathering of home-grown brands that sell goods made out of indigenous materials.
Some of her customers’ excitement is due to the clever designs of her bags, dresses, aprons and other apparel. But much of it is to do with her novel take on what constitutes an “indigenous material”. While other stalls are selling products made of local cotton and abaca, the source of Manicad’s goods is more esoteric: her neighbourhood bakery.
Long before “sustainable fashion” became a trend, Manicad, 59, had mastered the art of recycling used flour sacks into clothing and accessories people would want to wear.
