We were sitting on the floor, in a circle. She took a deep breath and started to share her story. How she hand-stitched leather gloves for less than $6 a day.
Gloves that were sold by a luxury brand overseas for $300, stamped with “made in the USA” even though they were truly made here in the Philippines. How the pressure to stitch faster, make more gloves, fill a quota, began to wear on her.
The other women in the room chimed in with their stories, too: the American brands they’d worked for, the factory floor managers that had harassed them, the wages that were too low to allow for any saving, keeping them stuck in a cycle of exploitation.
I thought to myself “I should share this”- but didn’t feel like social media was the perfect avenue. “What would be better”, I thought, “would be to just bring everyone here to sit on this floor and hear this stuff for themselves”.
In that moment, the idea for a “discovery trip” was born. I started sending emails to all of the awesome Filipina entrepreneurs, artisan groups, and sustainable living gurus that have taught me so much during my time in the Philippines, determining the best way to bring a group of conscious living enthusiasts on a learning tour.
After several months and lots of planning, we launched our first two 10-day discovery trip dates, with the first being slated for the very end of July.
Our goals for each participant our threefold:
Learn about the social enterprise climate in Southeast Asia from local innovators
In addition to visiting a total of 8 social enterprises in 4 different regions of the Philippines, learning sessions with local innovators will be sprinkled throughout the itinerary. Speakers for this trip will include Reece Fernandez-Ruiz of Rags2Riches, Anya Lim of ANTHILL Fabric Gallery, Hannah Theisen of A Beautiful Refuge, Mark and Rochelle Martin of Precious Trading Company, and Kylie Misa of WVN Home, covering topics ranging from zero waste fashion to fair wages to sustainable farming.
Learn from women who know the inside of the {ethical} fashion industry better than anyone.
We’ll visit weaving communities, production facilities, and ethically-run workshops. You’ll have the chance to sit alongside artisans and be involved in the process of making a garment. You’ll learn how to repurpose fabric scraps into a unique accessory, sew and print your own tee shirt, and more through several exclusive workshops for our group. You’ll get to hear workers’ experiences within the conventional fashion industry, and learn what’s next as we look toward the future of ethical fashion in the Philippines.
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