From Rugs to High-Class Bags

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From Rugs to High-Class Bags
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The tendency to make do with what’s available, the inclination to see opportunities in little unlikely things, and the ability to tickle the imagination – these are traits that keep Filipinos creating things of style and function, making their country a home to possibilities.

In fashion for instance, we’ve heard of and seen bags made from the most unthinkable materials—recycled juice packs (known as basura bags), discarded plastics, old t-shirts, recycled newspapers, rice bags, and so on, with quality that’s at par with those made of the more conventional leather, cotton, canvass, hemp or jute.

Still, the possibilities are endless, and this is where Rags2Riches thrive.

Business with a conscience

Rags2Riches, a social business enterprise formed by students, alumni and professors of Ateneo de Manila University, as well as prominent alumni of De La Salle University, is transforming impoverished women’s lives, one bag at a time.

Because of Rags2Riches, high-end bags ranging from totes to purses and wine holders now sit in a corner of Firma in Greenbelt 3 and House of Rajo. Intricately crafted by skillful hands, designed by no less than Rajo Laurel, and raved about by the elite, these unique local bags have come a long way. And no, buyers don’t mind at all if the bags were made of and inspired by yet another unique material – rugs.

People who have seen these soft-textured eye-candy bags, especially those who witnessed the product launch in plush EDSA Shangri-La Mall last year, know the story behind this unique collection. It’s about mothers, daughters and sisters who want to uplift the lives of their families; it’s about Filipinos helping fellow Filipinos.

From rugs to riches

For the longest time, the women of Payatas—Manila’s main waste dump and one of the most depressed areas in the country—have been weaving rugs out of scrap fabrics found amid the garbage dumped into their community. Each rug would be sold for one to two pesos, while middlemen profited P25 from the rug. Despite this hopeless situation, nothing stopped the women from weaving rugs just for them to be able to put food on the table.

It was this bleak status quo that caught the attention of Rags2Riches. Using a business strategy that won the Philippines the coveted Social Enterprise Award during the 2008 University of San Francisco (USF) International Business Plan Competition held last April in San Francisco, CA, Rags2Riches came to the aid of the Payatas women, with the aim of eliminating the middlemen and thus helping the women directly sell their products to the market.

For a start, the Payatas women were invited to join a bazaar in Ateneo late last year, where they experienced meeting their buyers directly for the first time. Showcasing rugs crafted according to the design and quality standards set by Rags2Riches, the women had their first taste of success when their rugs got sold-out in just two hours.

Rags2Riches helps the women improve their products, continually giving them opportunities to be creators of works of art. The group has also put up an online store for such fabulous products at their website, www.rags2riches.ph.

Things got even more exciting when Rajo Laurel joined the project in September last year. The well-known designer gave the women insights as to the rugs’ other possibilities. Because of his idea, the rugs have been diversified into the bags now on display in high-end boutiques.

A social statement

Looking back and to where things are now, it’s amazing how a product of waste can break barriers, change lives, and end up in the hands of the glamorous and the lovers of fashion.

Now, the women of Payatas are value-makers who design and decide about their products. They have become an active segment in the market that values their story and their creations. Their rags-to-riches story has given them the rewards and empowerment that they deserve. Theirs is a story that’s meant to be heard. (www.asianjournal.com)

(Published November 12, 2008 p.mgzn5 LAMDWK)

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