The sixth Habi Market Fair showcases traditional Philippine fabrics such as inabel from Northern Luzon, silk from Negros, the Cordillera fabrics of Sagada, Banawe, Kalinga; piña from Aklan and Palawan; plus colorful weaves from all over Mindanao.

The annual fair in Makati is a marketplace for both products and ideas: buyers are introduced to a wide range of woven products while weavers and vendors exchange best practices in marketing and creative design with traders, designers, and other interested parties. 

Habi is also advocating for the return of pure cotton in weaving. It’s a timely project since hand-woven 100% cotton is highly valued by those who embrace the slow-fashion movement. In past centuries, cotton cloth was a major feature of the Philippine economy, being traded for porcelain jars from Chinese merchants and exported to the old world in the Spanish galleons.

Philippine cotton is equivalent in quality to the best Egyptian cotton, but its cultivation and use has almost died out in the country. Habi encourages the planting of cotton to provide weavers the material to create masterpieces in this and many other natural fibers to help bring Philippine textiles into global view. The 2016 Habi Market Fair will be held on Oct. 14-16 at the Glorietta Activity Center, Glorietta 2, Makati City.   

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