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Local textile manufacturers urged to use natural fibers, cultural identity to differentiate products

Dr. Julius Leaño Jr., director IV of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI), tells The Manila Times that Philippine textiles cannot directly compete with fast fashion and mass-produced synthetic fabrics in terms of volume and price. Instead, he said local producers should capitalize on the country’s natural fibers and cultural identity to differentiate their products.

VIDEO BY ALLEN LIMOS

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Transcript
00:00When yung ukay-ukay story is more than just economics. May social yan, may cultural behavior yan, may sustainability issues.
00:09So we cannot answer that like ngayon. Actually, those are the central pieces of the discussions this afternoon.
00:15It will revolve on the whole concept of why ukay-ukay has really emerged in later years.
00:23Na fo-foster siya technically. But ang tanong is, how can we help out believers?
00:29I think I indicated to you a while ago that the filmy textiles cannot really compete
00:35pag ang pag-uusapan mo ay mas, super mas. And I'm referring to your covenant, your polyester.
00:40The fact that we incorporate our natural fibers is the start of the conversation where we own up,
00:45we own the textiles that we produce. So when we own them, it means that we have signatures literally and figuratively
00:51in those textiles or yarns. Ito yung pwede magamit ng ating hand-to-feber.
00:56Such that it technically bears the insignia or the signature of the Philippines as far as those are concerned.
01:01What we want to do is that, i-mamanage mo ang scale, but not to the extent na i-masyado siyang mas,
01:08na babagsak na babagsak yung presyo. Otherwise, as I said in my speech a while ago,
01:12if you pulled up the conversation to conversation of cost, talo ka na agad yan.
01:17So we have to contain it to a certain level where the narrative, the story, the culture,
01:23really is part of the value. Otherwise, kung pure material cost dyan, medyo tangilid talaga tayo.
01:30So I think that's the interface that we have with the weavers. They have the story, they have their techniques,
01:36they have their narratives, and then we blend that with properly and economically and even commercially viable materials
01:46as a medium of their creative expression. Such that in that way, we can keep the Philippine textile,
01:52especially the handling of our products as a certain age and a certain scale. Not too restrictive as far as cost,
02:00but not too oppressive naman that the weavers basically mamapatay na because ang mura-mura ng tela.
02:06So it's a balancing act. It's not like, as I said earlier, hindi siya one-size-fits-all.
02:12Ibang community would require different approaches as well, kasi sa abaka, iba naman yung kwento.
02:17Pagdating sa self, iba ang kwento. So we have to engage with them individually, every community,
02:23and thus I take the way to do it.
02:53Thank you so much for watching.
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