When fashion and social justice go hand in hand, progress happens. The company Rags2Riches is no stranger to social justice.
Rags2Riches Inc. is a for-profit company based in Manila, Philippines that creates fashion and home accessories out of scrap cloth by working with women living in impoverished cities across the country. Rags2Riches’ philosophy stands upon four bottom lines: people, profit, planet and positive influence.
Rags2Riches got its start in 2007 in the poorest districts of the Philippines. According to the Rags2Riches website, women living in Payatas, “one of the Philippines’ largest dumpsites and home to 12,000 families,” were scavenging waste in order to find and recycle fabric scraps for weaving. This became a way for the women to make a living and provide for their families.
However, the website reports that, “over time, the industry became exploited by a series of middlemen who controlled both the supply of scrap fabric and the women’s access to the market, which created an unfair value chain for the women who, at the end of the day, earned only pennies per finished product.”
Thus, Rags2Riches was funded, providing fair-trade work for hundreds of women in need. With the help of Rags2Riches, the women are taught financial and health training so they can maximize their career potential.
To help create its fashionable products, Rags2Riches teamed up with fashion designers Rajo Laurel, Amina Aranaz-Alunan and Oliver Tolentino to help mold the scrap and indigenous fabric into beautiful handbags and accessories.
Though Rags2Riches has only been around for four years, the progress the company created has been life changing. It has empowered 450 women across 21 communities in the Metro Manila area and continues to make moves as the company expands with the help of social media campaigns.
To learn more about Rags2Riches and to shop its culturally conscious inventory, visit www.rags2riches.ph.
Rags2Riches products have been featured in many publications including Lifestyle and Charity Magazine and Marie Claire Magazine.
