Turning Scraps into Chic from one of the Philippines' largest landfills

Manila's Payatas dump site is more than a simple landfill, it's an entire human eco-system.

 

Located to the northeast of the Philippines' capital, it supports a population of almost half a million people many of whom eke out a precarious living sifting through garbage.

Over the decades, an informal cottage industry grew up around women who earned money weaving recycled scrap fabric into rugs --- a job that allowed them to earn at least some money while they took care of their children at home.

Their work came to the attention of middlemen who exploited them by controlling the supply of fabric as well as their access to the market.

Eventually, many of the women were driven down below cost, producing the rugs for as little as 20 cents a day.

In 2007, a group of young professionals came together to change the situation. Rags2Riches was set up to provide the women artisans of Payatas with a fair price and access to the formal market.

With the help of some of the Philippines' top designers, including sought-after names such as Rajo Laurel, Amina Aranaz-Alunan, Olivia d'Aboville and Oliver Tolentino, the company began producing high-end fashion accessories made by the women of Patayas and other communities around the Philippines.

According to Rags2Riches president Reese Fernandez-Ruiz, in a short six years the company has built an international brand with a growing reputation.

"We are starting to sell to retailers like Anthropologie and our partnerships are just going to expand," she said. "We're doing our next fundraising within weeks and we'll be getting new investors in."

The company has so far trained more than 800 artisans producing everything from handbags, wallets and even wine bottle covers that retail in fashion houses as far away as London and New York.

It now operates in 21 different communities around Metro Manila and has expanded to other parts of the Philippines taking in designs and work from poor communities across the country.

Creating chances for a better future

The company aims not just to pay its workers better but to provide financial, educational and health training that it says will pay dividends into the future.