Traditional Philippine fabrics find their way into more products

Rising social awareness among consumers has widened the use of environment-friendly materials and methods of production among Philippine manufacturers. At several companies, this trend is apparent in the adoption of fabrics woven from locally sourced plant-based fibers using looms that require neither electricity nor water to operate.

Handwoven textiles can be found across the country, with each fabric reflecting the history and culture of the weaving community. Inabel from the Ilocos region in Luzon is among the traditional crafts seeing increased usage. Typically turned into blankets, bedsheets and other home textiles, inabel is now also being made into or used as accents in pullovers, polo shirts, jackets and dresses.

Piña, from the Spanish word for pineapple, remains one of the most well-known handwoven fabrics from the Philippines. Produced primarily by weaving communities in Visayas, it is made of fibers extracted from the leaves of certain pineapple varieties. The pineapple fibers can be used with silk, resulting in the blend known as piña-seda.

Piña and piña-seda are typically used to make formal men's dress shirts (barong Tagalog), mestiza dresses and wedding gowns. The fabrics are also seen in bags, shawls and other fashion accessories.

T'nalak, an abaca-based fabric made by the T'boli women of Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, Mindanao, is another product being adopted in a wide range of products. The textile has been incorporated in bags, bracelets, pillow covers, notebook covers and gift boxes, as well as couture gowns.

This article and its contents are provided by the Hinrich Foundation, a partner of Global Sources in promoting trade across Asia. The products and the suppliers featured in this article are export assistance program beneficiaries of the Hinrich Foundation.