Day: September 23, 2021

Metro Pacific Investments Foundation (MPIF) took its Puhunang Pangkabuhayan Project to its coastal community partner in Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte, donating bicycles, pocket Wi-Fis, sewing and edging machines, and Smart retailer kits for the establishment of alternative livelihood programs amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Kickstarting Alternative Livelihood – Most of MPIF’s coastal community partners depend on tourism as a source of income. Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte was even named one of Time magazine’s 100 unique destinations featured in its “The World’s Greatest Places of 2021”. However, the heightened restrictions and the strictly imposed lockdowns jeopardized this sector, forcing employees to search for other means to provide for their families. To augment this, MPIF sought to empower and give these individuals a source of stability against the looming uncertainty.

It all started with a simple yellow dress created from old, discarded blue jeans. It was the first garment made entirely from recycled clothing seven years ago by what was then a new company, Renewcell. “The dress shook up everything,” says Tahani Kaldéus, the head of research and development at Renewcell. “This changed the equation of consumption in the fashion industry.” When the Stockholm textile recycling company introduced its yellow dress to the fashion industry on a catwalk in June 2014, it received widespread praise, because the dress looks no different from one purchased at a leading retailer. The difference, however, is the technology.